LruA and LruB antibodies in sera of human cases of leptospiral uveitis

M. H. Gluck Equine Research Center, Department of Veterinary Science, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40546, USA; Uvea Clinic, Aravind Eye Hospital, No. 1, Anna Nagar, Madurai 625 020, Tamil Nadu, India; Aravind Medical Research Foundation, No. 1, Anna Nagar, Madurai 625 020, Tamil Nadu, India; and Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, University of Kentucky, College of Medicine, Lexington, KY 40536, USA

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: jtimoney{at}uky.edu.

	Abstract

Uveitis can be a serious complication of leptospirosis. Previous studies indicated that the leptospiral lipoproteins LruA and LruB are expressed in the eyes of uveitic horses, and that antibodies directed against those proteins show in vitro cross reactivity with components of equine lens, ciliary body and/or retina. We now demonstrate that sera from a significant proportion of humans that have leptospiral uveitis also contain antibodies against LruA and LruB. Different categories of non-leptospiral uveitis and autoimmune uveitis were also screened: patients diagnosed with Fuchs uveitis or Behçet's syndrome produced antibodies that cross-reacted with LruA and LruB, suggesting similarities in the autoimmune responses in those diseases with those of leptospiral uveitis.