[The role of cytokines for the diagnosis of uveitis].

Non-infectious uveitis is characterised by a breakdown of immunological tolerance. Several cytokines could be identified as important regulators of the immune system during induction, progression and remission of ocular inflammation in animal models. This review analyses the current knowledge on cytokines in uveitis and their relevance for diagnostic purposes. Elevated levels of pro-inflammatory and decreased concentrations of anti-inflammatory cytokines were detected in the aqueous humor and serum of uveitis patients. In addition, single nucleotide polymorphisms of cytokine genes altering expression levels were found to be associated with an increased risk of uveitis. These studies, however, included only small or heterogeneous patient populations. Moreover, the reported data are partially inconsistent. Thus, the analysis of cytokines does not play a role in the routine diagnostic process of uveitis so far. New multiplex techniques for cytokine analysis will provide comprehensive data for a better understanding of the complex regulation of the immune system during intraocular inflammation. This may lead to a quantitative description of the immunological mechanisms of uveitis in the individual patient to improve the prognostic evaluation and select the most efficient treatment.