Immunology of the Eye

The eye is a remarkably complex organ with one known function - the unfettered transmission of photons from the ocular surface to the retina where signals are transmitted to the brain where they are translated into images - a process we commonly call vision. Crucial tissues in the eye are amitotic and cannot regenerate. Therefore, unrestrained inflammation can threaten vision. Accordingly, the eye and the immune system have struck a compromise in which certain immune and inflammatory responses are either dampened or excluded from the eye, a phenomenon called 'immune privilege.' In this article, we discuss the mechanisms that produce immune privilege in the eye, the conditions in which immune privilege is terminated, and the consequences of failed immune privilege.