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The eye and the brain have limited capacities for regeneration and as such, immune-mediated inflammation can produce devastating consequences in the form of neurodegenerative diseases of the central nervous system or blindness as a result of ocular inflammatory diseases such as uveitis. Accordingly, both the eye and the brain are designed to limit immune responses and inflammation – a condition known as “immune privilege”. Immune privilege is sustained by physiological, anatomical, and regulatory processes that conspire to restrict both adaptive and innate immune responses.

The eye and the brain have limited capacities for regeneration and as such, immune-mediated inflammation can produce devastating consequences in the form of neurodegenerative diseases of the central nervous system or blindness as a result of ocular inflammatory diseases such as uveitis. Accordingly, both the eye and the brain are designed to limit immune responses and inflammation – a condition known as "immune privilege". Immune privilege is sustained by physiological, anatomical, and regulatory processes that conspire to restrict both adaptive and innate immune responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hypothesis that autoimmune diseases might be due to a defect in immunoregulation was tested in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We have applied the double immunofluorescence, flow cytometry technique to peripheral blood lymphocytes from patients with SLE. T cells were studied for their binding of the lectin Vicia villosa (VV) which is a phenotypic marker for contra-suppressor cells both in mice and humans. A significant increase in CD3+VV+ and CD8+ VV+ cells was found in patients with SLE, as compared with age and sex matched controls (P < 001). When the patients were divided according to the 'lupus activity criteria count', those with active disease had a significantly increased proportion of CD3+ VV+ and CD8+VV+ cells, as compared with those showing no disease activity(p<0.001). Indeed, a sequential investigation showed that the proportion of CD8+VV+ cells changed in parallel with exacerbation and remission of disease activity. These results suggest that disease activity in SLE is associated with an increase in VV binding CD8 cells which can function as contrasuppressor cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lectin Vicia villosa (VV) has been used for the separation of human and murine contrasuppressor T cells. These cells were characterized in cryostat sections of human palatine tonsils by double staining with VV lectin and monoclonal antibodies to macrophages, lymphocytes and their subsets using a fluorescein-rhodamine technique. VV lectin had an affinity for the CD8 subset of lymphocytes and for a subset of macrophages within the germinal centre. The number and distribution of VV lectin binding cells was studied in paraffin sections of formalin fixed tonsils by the avidin-biotin-peroxidase technique. Positive cells in the germinal centres, mantle, interfollicular zones and fibrous connective tissue septa were quantified using an image analyser. These were found in greatest density in the interfollicular zone, correlating with the known distribution of T cells in human palatine tonsils. The binding of VV lectin to a subset of macrophages appears not to have previously been described nor have VV lectin binding CD8 lymphocytes been demonstrated in sections of human tissues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The eye and the brain have limited capacities for regeneration and as such, immune-mediated inflammation can produce devastating consequences in the form of neurodegenerative diseases of the central nervous system or blindness as a result of ocular inflammatory diseases such as uveitis. Accordingly, both the eye and the brain are designed to limit immune responses and inflammation - a condition known as "immune privilege". Immune privilege is sustained by physiological, anatomical, and regulatory processes that conspire to restrict both adaptive and innate immune responses., Competing Interests: The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Niederkorn.)