The Role of IFN-alpha in Experimental and Clinical Uveitis

Purpose: IFN-alpha is the only treatment capable of inducing long-term remission in some patients with ocular Behcet's disease. In this review, we focus on immune mechanisms of IFN-alpha in animal models and patients and compare the outcome of different clinical studies. Methods: Review of literature using PubMed and Google and original data from rat models with monophasic/chronic or relapsing experimental autoimmune uveitis treated with IFN-alpha. Results: The role of IFN-alpha and its effect on various cell types were investigated, in some cases with contradictory results. Some patients respond very well to IFN-alpha treatment, while others are non-responders, which was reflected in the uveitis rat models: relapsing uveitis was ameliorated, the monophasic/chronic disease even aggravated. Conclusions: Despite intensive investigations in patients and animal models, the immune mechanisms explaining the therapeutic effect of IFN-alpha in ocular Behcet's disease are not yet fully understood and need further investigation.