Abstract
Cells in the eye have a limited capacity for regeneration and, as such, immune-mediated inflammation can lead to blindness. The eye is designed to quench immune-mediated inflammation - a condition known as immune privilege. An important component of immune privilege is the dynamic immunoregulatory process termed anterior chamber-associated immune deviation (ACAID), which is initiated when antigens enter the eye. ACAID suppresses the initiation of antigen-specific inflammation in the eye and the effector stages of immune reactions. Four organ systems are crucial for the induction of ACAID: the eye, thymus, spleen and sympathetic nervous system. Multiple cell populations contribute to ACAID, with natural killer T cells playing a crucial role in the thymic and splenic phases of ACAID. Interactions between natural killer T cells and multiple cell populations in the spleen culminate in the tight regulation of immune-mediated inflammation in the eye and the preservation of vision.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 137-144 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Expert review of clinical immunology |
Volume | 5 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2009 |
Keywords
- Anterior chamber
- Anterior chamber-associated immune deviation
- Corneal transplantation
- Eye
- Immune privilege
- Natural killer T cell
- T regulatory cell
- Tolerance
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Immunology and Allergy
- Immunology