Immune response evoked by antigen injection in the rabbit vitreous combined with immunopotentiation.

Intravitreal injection of rabbits with antigen evokes a cell-mediated and a humoral immune response as detected by lymphocyte stimulation, skin testing, and hemagglutination tests. The results of the lymphocyte stimulation test largely correlate with the clinical evaluation of the inflammation process. Rabbits which have been sensitized by Freund's complete adjuvant at the moment of intravitreal antigen injection demonstrate a biphasic cell-mediated immune activity to this antigen. Intradermal or intraocular antigenic challenges of the rabbits 5 weeks following the intravitreal injection evoke responses with the characteristics of an Arthus reaction. At that moment, antigen-sensitized lymphocytes are found in the draining preauricular lymph nodes but not in the contralateral lymph nodes, suggesting separate functioning of these lymph tissues.