T he concept of immune privilege refers to the observation that tissue grafts placed in certain anatomical sites, including the brain and eye, can survive for extended periods of time (1). Immune privilege is thought to reflect an evolutionary adaptation to protect vital structures from damage by inflammatory responses directed against pathogens. It was originally believed that antigens in immu...

Evidence of immune privilege in the eye was recorded almost 140 years ago, yet interest in immune privilege languished for almost a century. However, the past 35 years have witnessed a plethora of research and a rekindled interest in the mechanisms responsible for immune privilege in the anterior chamber of the eye. This research has demonstrated that multiple anatomical, structural, physiologi...

The testis presents a special immunological environment, considering its property of immune privilege that tolerates allo- and auto-antigens. Testicular immune privilege was once believed to be mainly based on the sequestration of antigens from the immune system by the blood-testis barrier in the seminiferous epithelium. Substantial evidence supports the view that the combination of physical st...

The eye attempts to limit local immune and inflammatory responses to preserve vision. This phenomenon, known as ocular immune privilege, is mediated by a combination of local and systemic mechanisms. While immune privilege is believed to protect the eye from day-to-day inflammatory insults, it is not absolute and its mechanisms are still incompletely understood.

The eye is a privileged site that cannot tolerate destructive inflammatory responses. Inflammatory cells entering the anterior chamber of the eye in response to viral infection underwent apoptosis that was dependent on Fas (CD95)-Fas ligand (FasL) and produced no tissue damage. In contrast, viral infection in gid mice, which lack functional FasL, resulted in an inflammation and invasion of ocul...

Immune privilege is extended to allogeneic tissues placed into the anterior chamber of the eye and results in part from the induction of anterior chamber-associated immune deviation (ACAID)--a condition in which the host is capable of making humoral antibodies and cytotoxic T cells specific for the antigens in question, but is selectively suppressed in its capacity to generate delayed-type hype...