Effector T cells driving monophasic vs relapse/remitting experimental autoimmune uveitis show unique pathway signatures

Experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU) in Lewis rats is a model for the clinical heterogeneity of human uveitis. The autoantigens inducing disease in the rat are also seen in human disease. Depending upon the specific autoantigen used, the experimental disease course can be either monophasic or relapsing/remitting and appears to be dictated by the T cell effector phenotype elicited. We investigated potential differences between monophasic and relapsing/remitting effector T cells using transcriptomic profiling and pathway analysis. RNA samples isolated from three independent T cell lines derived from each specificity where analyzed by microarrays. Microarray data was used to obtain transcriptomic changes reflecting signal transduction pathway dysregulation. Keywords: Two group comparison Comparison of two types of cell lines of two different antigen specificities.