THYMIC EXPRESSION OF AUTOANTIGENS CORRELATES WITH RESISTANCE TO AUTOIMMUNE-DISEASE

Experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis (EAU), an animal model for human intraocular inflammation (uveitis), is induced by immunization with r etinal proteins such as S-Ag or interphotoreceptor retinoid binding pr otein, Marked differences exist among different animal species and str ains in their susceptibility to EAU induction, but the cause of these differences is not completely clear, Here we show for the first time a correlation between constitutive expression of ocular autoantigens in the thymus (mRNA and protein) and resistance to EAU, This correlation was noted both at the species (mice vs rats or monkeys) and the subsp ecies (differences among strains) level, The data thus provide a novel mechanistic explanation for the differences in susceptibility to auto immune diseases, suggesting that resistance to an organ-specific autoi mmune disease may be regulated at least in part by capacity to establi sh central tolerance to the relevant autoantigen.