[A novel model of autoimmune uveo-retinitis in nude mice grafted with embryonic rat thymuses].

When the T cell functions of congenitally athymic nude (nu/nu) mice were reconstituted by implantation of embryonic rat thymi (thymus grafted nude mice), uveoretinitis histologically characterized by complete loss of photoreceptor layer was found to develop spontaneously in 4.0, 18.2, 42. 9 and 70.4% of the mice at 3, 5, 7 and 12 months of age, respectively. In mice with uveoretinitis serum IgG antibody reacted with the retinal photoreceptor layer, and with interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein, but not with retinal S-antigen by immunoblot analysis and ELISA. The lesions could be transferred to syngeneic nude mice by splenic CD4+ T cells. This suggest that an autoimmune response to IRBP induced the uveoretinitis in thymus grafted nude mice.