Increased CD4 ؉ Expression and Decreased IL-10 in the Anterior Chamber in Idiopathic Uveitis

PURPOSE. To compare cell types and cytokines in aqueous humor from patients with uveitis either occurring in association with a systemic disease or apparently isolated and not associated with a systemic disease. METHODS. Cells were collected by centrifugation of fresh aqueous humor from uveitis and controls, and immunofluorescence techniques were performed with markers for T cells, B cells, and monocytes. Cytokines were measured in the aqueous supernatants, and serum samples were assayed for soluble interleukin-2 receptors. RESULTS. When aqueous samples from idiopathic uveitis were compared with those from uveitis associated with a systemic disease, there were increases in CD3 ϩ , CD4 ϩ (p ϭ 0.001), and activated CD4 ϩ T cells (p ϭ 0.02) and a decrease in B cells (p ϭ 0.0013). This was not reflected in the peripheral blood where there were no differences in the cell types or in soluble interleukin-2 receptor levels. No cells were obtainable from control aqueous. Interleukins-10 and -12, interferon-␥, and transforming growth factor-␤2 were detected in aqueous supernatants. Interleukin-10 was reduced (p ϭ 0.024) in uveitis in comparison with controls

Multiplex Cytokine Detection versus ELISA for Aqueous Humor: IL-5, IL-10, and IFN␥ Profiles in Uveitis

PURPOSE. The purpose of this study was to determine levels of IL-2, -4, -5, -10, TNF-␣, and IFN-␥ in aqueous humor (AH) from patients with active panuveitis, anterior uveitis (AU), and noninflammatory controls by using a flow cytometric mutiplex array (CBA) and to compare with results from ELISA. METHODS. Pooled normal AH was spiked with six cytokines at decreasing concentrations for evaluating the CBA. AH was also obtained from 10 controls (cataract patients) and 36 patients with active uveitis. Cell-free supernatants were added to a cocktail of capture beads and detector antibodies or to antibody-coated wells for CBA and ELISA determination, respectively. RESULTS. CBA demonstrated greater sensitivity for detecting IL-4, IL-10, and TNF-␣ than with ELISA. Increased IFN-␥ was detected in both AU and panuveitis groups compared with controls (P Ͻ 0.01). IL-10 was higher in the panuveitis group on steroids (P Ͻ 0.01). IL-5 was detected in the control (P Ͻ 0.01) and AU groups (P Ͻ 0.05) but was undetectable in the panuveitis group (n ϭ 10). Correlations between IFN-␥ and IL-10 were found in all uveitis groups (P Ͻ 0.01) but not in controls, whereas TNF-␣ correlations with IL-4/IFN-␥ were obtained in controls but not in the uveitis groups (P Ͻ 0.01). CONCLUSIONS. It was possible to measure cytokines titrated into normal AH specimens by CBA, and a greater number of cytokines were detected with increased sensitivity than with ELISA. Elevated IFN-␥ in active uveitis and decreased IL-5 in posterior uveitis suggest Th1 polarity is more marked, with greater uveal tract involvement. The increased IL-10 in the steroid treated group suggests glucocorticoid-induced IL-10 upregulation. (Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci