T cell repertoire diversity in Fuchs' Uveitis Syndrome

Abstract

Abstract: : Purpose: Fuchs'uveitis syndrome is characterized by a long-standing course of low grade inflammation with persistent infiltrating cells in anterior chamber. These cells are predominantly CD8₊ T cell but their clonal composition is unknown. T cell repertoire diversity of the accumulating T cells was analyzed to investigate its degree of restriction. Method: Aqueous humor and peripheral blood cells were collected in three patients with Fuchs' uveitis syndrome. Three-color flow cytometry analysis was performed on these samples to determine T cell subset composition. T cell repertoire diversity was determined by analysis of TCR BV family expression and high resolution immunoscope analysis of TCRBV CDR3 profiles. Results: Most of aqueous humor CD8₊ T cells were CD28 and CD57-negative. A highly restricted TCR BV-BJ usage was found in these cells. In one case, unique peaks of CDR3 length were found for T cells using defined BJ gene segments but did not predominate in blood. Conclusions: The immunophenotype of CD8₊CD28_neg T cells is suggestive of past antigenic stimulation. The presence of a small number of clonotypes suggests the involvement of these T cells in the pathogenesis of Fuchs'uveitis syndrome.

Keywords: 437 inflammation • 611 uvea • 435 immunomodulation/immunoregulation