Immune reactivity to different retinal antigens in patients suffering from retinitis pigmentosa

The immune status of patients suffering from different types of retinitis pigmentosa has been investigated. The lymphocytes of these patients could be stimulated by incubation with human soluble retinal antigens as well as with bovine rod outer segments. The results suggest the involvement of the cellular immune system in retinitis pigmentosa. The leukocyte migration inhibition test also pointed in that way, especially if bovine rhodopsin was used as the antigen. The complement fixation test suggested the presence of a nonspecific weak antibody activity in the blood of retinitis pigmentosa patients as well as of controls. This activity seemed predominantly to be directed to the insoluble fraction of human retinas. On the basis of the findings we conclude that patients suffering from retinitis pigmentosa may become sensitized to retinal antigens, especially to those localized in the rod outer segments. This sensitization concerns the cell-mediated immune system and seems not to be correlated with a special type of the disease.