In vitro cellular immune functions and lymphocyte subsets are being studied in a masked method in patients with ocular toxoplasmosis, Pars planitis, Behcet's disease, geographic choroiditis, and chorioretinitis of unknown origin. Crude ocular antigens, purified uveitogenic soluble antigen interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (IRBP) of the retina, and uveitogenic fractions of the retinal S-antigen are being used in a lymphocyte microculture technique to evaluate the presence of cellular immune memory in ocular tissues. In addition, purified antigens from the toxoplasmosis organism are also being tested in this in vitro system. A subgroup of patients with posterior uveitis has been identified as having this immunologic memory. Lymphocyte subsets in the blood and in the eye are being defined in these patients by monoclonal antibodies, which may shed light on the basic mechanisms of uveitis and may be used as a guide for specific immunologic therapy. The serum from these patients, particularly those with Behcet's disease, is also being evaluated.
