Infiltration of Plasma Cells in the Iris of Children With ANA-Positive Anterior Uveitis

PURPOSE. We investigated inflammatory cell infiltrates in iris biopsies in uveitis associated with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) in comparison with other pediatric uveitis entities and noninflammatory pediatric controls. METHODS. Iridectomy specimens were obtained during elective trabeculectomy from 31 eyes of 25 patients: 12 eyes with JIA-associated uveitis, 13 eyes with other uveitis entities, and 6 eyes with open angle nonuveitic juvenile glaucoma. Histopathologic and immunohistochemical analyses were performed. A semiquantitative scoring system was used with a scale ranging from 0 to 4 depending on the number of stained cells. RESULTS. An inflammatory infiltrate was present in 8/12 (67%) specimens with JIA-associated uveitis. The cellular infiltrate in JIA specimens was characterized by the presence of CD138+ plasma cells and CD68+ macrophages, while the presence of CD20+, CD4+, and CD8+ cells was variable. Presence of plasma cells in the inflammatory infiltrates in anterior uveitis correlated with antinuclear autoantibody (ANA) positivity regardless of the diagnosis of JIA. CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were not always detectable in the iris biopsies of all childhood uveitis patients, although a slight predominance of CD4+ cells was noted. CONCLUSIONS. Children with ANA-positive anterior uveitis often show an infiltrate of plasma cells, regardless of the diagnosis of JIA. The iris of JIA-associated uveitis patients is additionally characterized by the presence of various numbers of macrophages.