Birdshot retionchoroidopathy is a chronic inflammatory disease of the eye,with a presumed autoimmune basis. There is a strong HLA association (HLA-A29). We have begun to study the repertoire of the variable region of the beta chain of the T-cell receptor in patients and controls. The analysis is directed to characterize the central steps of autoimmune recognition and its regulation, facilitating the study of the magnitude of autoreactive T cell clonal expansion in this disease. All of the patients have been recruited for this study. We are in the process of obtaining the full complement of appropriate HLA matched controls. No results are available as of yet.
