The RPE Cell and the Immune System

The RPE cell plays a pivotal role in retinal immunity. In fact, the RPE cell orchestrates both innate and adaptive immunity and contains a plethora of factors to regulate the immune response. Many immunoregulatory activities of the RPE cell are accomplished through cytokine production, toll-like receptor (TLR) activation, complement regulation and antigen presentation. The RPE cells immune regulatory network plays an essential role in retinal immunity and autoimmunity, retinal infections and in a variety of retinal degenerative disorders. Understanding the immune regulatory properties of this cell may provide additional clues to disease mechanisms that may lead to future treatments for many human retinal diseases.