Local Cytokine Expression Profiling in Patients with Specific Autoimmune Uveitic Entities

ABSTRACT

Purpose: To evaluate expression of cytokines GM-CSF, IL-11, IL-12p40, IL-12p70, IL-27p28, IL-35, APRIL, BAFF, TWEAK, and LIGHT in uveitis.

Methods: Aqueous humor samples from patients with active uveitis associated with Behçet’s disease (BD), sarcoidosis, HLA-B27-related inflammation, and Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease and control patients were assayed with a multiplex assay.

Results: Comparing all patients to controls, GM-CSF, IL-11, IL-12p40, APRIL, and BAFF were significantly increased, whereas LIGHT was significantly decreased. IL-11 and BAFF were the most strongly upregulated, being elevated 19.7-fold and 14.1-fold, respectively, compared with controls. IL-11 was significantly highest in HLA-B27 uveitis. GM-CSF, IL-11, and IL-12p40 were significantly higher in nongranulomatous uveitis (BD and HLA-B27) than in granulomatous uveitis (sarcoidosis and VKH), whereas APRIL and TWEAK were significantly higher in granulomatous uveitis.

Conclusions: IL-11-driven immune responses might be more potent in nongranulomatous uveitis, particularly in HLA-B27 uveitis. BAFF and APRIL might contribute to B cell-driven autoimmune response in uveitis.

Keywords:

• Behçet’s disease
• cytokines
• HLA-B27
• sarcoidosis
• uveitis
• Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Ms. Connie B. Unisa-Marfil for secretarial assistance. This work was supported by King Saud University through Vice Deanship of Research Chair, Dr. Nasser Al-Rashid Research Chair in Ophthalmology (Abu El-Asrar MA) and by the Foundation for Scientific Research of Flanders (FWO-Vlaanderen) and C1 funding (2017-2023) of the KU Leuven (Opdenakker G and Struyf S).