Mechanisms of Immune Privilege in the Posterior Eye

• Published in: International Reviews of Immunology Vol. 32; no. 1; pp. 42 - 56
• Main Author: Stein-Streilein, Joan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Informa Healthcare 01.02.2013; Taylor & Francis
• Subjects: Aged; Aging - immunology; Animals; Disease Models, Animal; Eye Diseases - immunology; Humans; immune regulation; immune suppression; Immune Tolerance; Posterior Eye Segment - immunology; retina; Retinal Pigment Epithelium - immunology; retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE)
• ISSN: 0883-0185; 1937-4364; 1563-5244
• DOI: 10.3109/08830185.2012.740535

Immune privilege protects vital organs and their functions from the destructive interference of inflammation. Because the eye is easily accessible for surgical manipulation and for assessing and imaging the outcomes, the eye has been a major tissue for the study of immune privilege. Here, we focus on the immune regulatory mechanisms in the posterior eye, in part, because loss of immune privilege may contribute to development of certain retinal diseases in the aging population. We begin with a background in immune privilege and then focus on the select regulatory mechanisms that have been studied in the posterior eye. The review includes a description of the immunosuppressive environment, regulatory surface molecules expressed by cells in the eye, types of cells that participate in immune regulation and finally, discusses animal models of retinal laser injury in the context of mechanisms that overcome immune privilege.