Purpose: To determine the types of antiretinal antibodies (ARA) in patients with endogenous posterior uveitis in active stage of the disease using indirect immunofluorescence test.
Material and methods: 50 patients--29 women (58%) and 21 men (42%) in age 19-70 years with idiopathic posterior uveitis were examined. In all cases the ARA were determined by indirect immunofluorescence test on normal monkey retina, as a substrate and FITC-labelled goat's anti-human IgA, G, M serum (Euroimmun-Germany). The control serum was obtained from 50 blood donors: 20 women (40%) and 30 men (60%) in age 20-64 years.
Results: Indirect immunofluorescence test showed the reaction with the outer retinal segments in 97.5% of cases. In 9 patients (22.5%) with positive serum antinuclear antibodies (ANA), the addictive reaction with the nuclei of both nuclear layers of retina was present. In one subject (2.5%), the diffuse fluorescence of all layers of retina was detected.
Conclusion: The most common type of ARA in patients with endogenous posterior uveitis were antibodies against the outer layers of retina, cytoplasm of photoreceptors and cells of outer nuclear layer.