[Recent advances in uveitis studies in China]

Uveitis has become an intensive study area and great achievements have been obtained during recent years. Uveitis study team in China has become one of the most productive uveitis study groups in the world. Ophthalmologists in China have addressed the clinical patterns and characteristics of uveitis in China. Studies by Chinese ophthalmologists, for the first time, revealed that IL-23/IL-17 played an important role in the pathogenesis of uveitis. Decreased frequency and function of CD4+CD25high T cells were shown to be actively involved in the development of Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome. A number of immune-related genes were found to be associated with the susceptibility to or resistance against Behcet's disease or Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome. Various molecules, such as Tim-3 and IDO protein, and Treg cells including CD4+CD25+T, CD4+PD-1+T, CD8+Foxp3+T and CD8+CD94+T were found to be involved in the development of anterior chamber associated immune deviation, an important mechanism against intraocular inflammation. These studies have greatly contributed to the understanding as well as the treatment of this disease.