Cytokine profiles in aqueous humor of patients with different clinical entities of endogenous uveitis

We assayed aqueous humor (AH) samples from patients with Behçet's disease (BD), Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada (VKH) disease, and HLA-B27-associated uveitis and control patients for the proinflammatory cytokines IL-15, IL-17, interferon-γ and tumor necrosis factor-α and the immunosuppressive cytokine IL-10. Cytokine levels were significantly higher in the three disease groups than in controls. In patients with similar disease activity, levels of IL-15 and IFN-γ were significantly higher in BD patients than in VKH and HLA-B27-associated uveitis groups. Logistic regression identified a significant negative correlation between BD and high levels of IL-10 and a significant positive correlation between VKH disease and high levels of IL-10. The proinflammatory cytokines versus IL-10 ratios were significantly higher in BD compared with other groups. These data suggest that both T helper (Th) 1 and Th17 cells are involved in endogenous uveitis immunopathogenesis. BD is characterized by extensive Th1 polarization, severe proinflammatory conditions and a low immunosuppressive status.