Prevalence and clinical impact of antiretinal antibodies in uveitis.

Purpose: To determine the prevalence of serum antiretinal antibodies (ARAs) among patients with uveitis and establish their clinical relevance.

Methods: This prospective study assessed the presence of ARAs by indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) using primate retina in 126 patients with uveitis and 60 healthy controls. Clinical data of uveitis patients were collected from medical charts and included the classification of uveitis, cause of uveitis or its association with systemic disease, stage and activity of uveitis and specific retinal features. Correlations between the presence of specific ARAs and various clinical characteristics were analysed.

Results: The presence of ARAs was observed in 49 of 104 (47%) of patients with uveitis and in 10 of 59 (17%) of healthy controls (p < 0.001). Staining of the nuclear layers or the photoreceptors were both more often observed in patients with uveitis compared to healthy controls (p = 0.002 and p = 0.018, respectively). No specific associations were found between the presence of serum ARAs and various clinical characteristics.

Conclusion: Serum ARAs were more frequent in patients with uveitis compared to healthy controls, but their clinical role remains elusive. The assessment of intraocular production of specific ARAs may provide further insight into the role of ocular autoantibodies in diverse uveitis entities.