Acute Anterior Uveitis in Association with Klebsiella Pneumoniae and HLA-B27

Acute Anterior Uveitis (AAU) is associated with numerous autoimmune diseases, in particular, ankylosing spondylitis (AS). AAU has also been shown to be associated with HLA-B27 antigen. The immune response of AAU patients is hypothesized to cross-react with Klebsiella pneumoniae and correlate with the presence of the B27 antigen. We were unable to demonstrate this cross-reactivity in our sample of AAU patients. However, we did find an increased immune complex level in those patients which was independent of the B27 antigen. The role of Klebsiella in these disease states remains unclear although AAU is in some way associated with AS.