IMMUNE DEVIATION IN RELATION TO OCULAR IMMUNE PRIVILEGE

Immune privilege in the eye is a dynamic state in which the immune res ponse to ocular Ags is molded and modified by the eye itself. Immune p rivilege correlates with systemic alterations in the immune response s uch that deviant forms of immunity emerge. The eye itself contributes to immune deviation, in part by displaying unique immunoregulatory fac tors in aqueous humor and expressed on ocular cells, When T cells enco unter Ag in the eye, they can become anergic, undergo apoptosis, secre te TGF-beta, and/or release soluble regulatory factors containing the TCR alpha-chain., Ags taken up by indigenous APC escape the eye and re ach the spleen where they activate a unique spectrum of Ag-specific T and B cells, The absence of systemic delayed hypersensitivity and comp lement-fixing Abs in this deviant response probably relates to the fac t that inflammation is deleterious to vision and leads to blindness, I mmune privilege is the eye's way of protecting its vital function from the ravages of immunopathogenic injury.