Multimodal Imaging-Based Quantitative Assessment of Autoimmune Uveitis in Experimental Mouse Model

Autoimmune uveitis is a sight-threatening disease mainly caused by immune dysregulation. Most existing clinical and biomedical studies still rely on subjective inflammatory assessment and semiquantitative molecular evaluation, and there is very little fairness research on multidimensional uveitis characterization exploration. With the advent of noninvasive and high-resolution imaging technology, there is a growing demand for objective, quantitative, and traceable indicators to support mechanistic investigation, accurate staging, precision therapy, and early relapse detection. In this study, we implemented a multiparametric, multimodal imaging platform to longitudinally monitor experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU). Changes in retinal structure, vascular networks, and visual function were evaluated within 2 weeks after EAU induction. Based on quantitative analysis of optical coherence tomography (OCT), OCT angiography (OCTA), vascular density (VD), and vascular tortuosity (VT) were shown to correlate with retinal thickness, clinical scores, histopathological scores, and may be added as potential objective and noninvasive candidate indicators for uveitis detection.