A new method for induction of experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis (EAU) in mice.

Experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis (EAU) was induced in two strains of mice by repeated-immunization protocol. SMA mice (H-2 nondefined) and C57BL/6 mice (H-2b) were immunized with S-antigen mixed with Klebsiella 03 lipopolysaccharide (K03 LPS) repeatedly at intervals of 1 to 4 weeks. Following the tertiary immunization, the mice exhibited histopathological changes of EAU as well as significant immune responses to the antigen. The antigen doses required for successful EAU induction were 4 micrograms or more at each immunization time. The histopathology of EAU was characterized by mild infiltration of mononuclear cells in the retina and the choroid, particularly, at the retinal blood vessels and the photoreceptor cell layer. The anterior segment of the eye was not affected by inflammation, and therefore clinical signs of EAU were not detected even under an operating microscope. Since the mouse is a genetically and immunologically well-defined species, this model is useful for study of immunopathogenic mechanisms of EAU.