Microbiology-Immunology Seminar Series
The commensal microbiome affects affects immunity and immune mediated disease locally as well as in distal sites. Microbiota can play very different roles in inflammatory disease affecting the eye, depending on the context and the location. Our data suggest that intestinal microbiota can serve as a source of crossreactive antigenic material that activates retina-specific T cells that happen to migrate through the gut, and endow them with the ability to cross the blood-retinal barrier and fuel autoimmune disease in the eye. On the other hand, microbiota on the surface of the eye may play a positive role in local host defense, by tuning immune function in the ocular surface mucosa.
Rachel Caspi, PhD
Chief, Immunoregulation Section
Acting Chief, Lab. Immunol., NEI, NIH
Host: Melissa Brown, PhD
Dr. Melissa Brown
(312) 503-0108
Email