Lymphocyte migration in the adoptive transfer of EAU.

Experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis (EAU) was transferred into naive male Lewis rats using 1 X 10(8) indium-111 labeled lymphocytes from syngeneic donors immunized with S-antigen. The migration of the lymphocytes was monitored by gamma camera imaging and by determining the accumulation of radioactivity in selected organs. The majority of the cells leave the peritoneal cavity within 24 hr and migrate to the liver, spleen, and thymus. Only a small fraction of the labeled cells reach the eye. However, there were significantly more labeled cells present in eyes that developed EAU as compared with controls using lymphocytes sensitized against bovine serum albumin. These results indicate the adoptive transfer of EAU is a complex process in which only a small number of transferred cells actually reach the eye to induce uveoretinitis.