Purpose: To study the peripheral expression of chemokine receptors and early activation markers in acute anterior uveitis (AU).
Methods: The expression of chemokine receptors CCR1, CCR2, CCR3, CCR5 and CXCR3, and activation markers CD25 (IL2R-alpha-chain), CD122 (IL2R-beta-chain) and CD69 were studied on peripheral blood mononuclear cells using flow cytometry in 10 patients with acute anterior uveitis and in 10 healthy controls.
Results: We found a highly significant up-regulation of CCR5 (p < 0.001) on CD4+ T-cells in the blood of patients with AU compared to in healthy controls. CD69 was significantly higher on both CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells (p < 0.05 and p < 0.001, respectively). We also found a significantly higher expression of CD25 expressing CD4+ T-cells in patients with anterior uveitis (p < 0.05). This expression was directly correlated to the severity of disease (rho = 0.720, p < 0.05).
Conclusion: Our data show that patients with acute anterior uveitis have a specific systemic immune activation.