Experimental study on the treatment of rabbit corneal melting after alkali burn with Collagen cross-linking

AIM: To evaluate the effect of Collagen cross-linking on the prevention of melting in rabbit corneas after alkali burn. METHODS: Twenty New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into model control group and collagen cross-linking treatment group. The second group of rabbits received collagen cross linked treatment. Both groups were applied with antibiotic eye drops to prevent infection. The corneas were evaluated for melting, opacity, pathological and immunohistochemistry, record the changes when 28 days after the animals were killed. RESULTS: In the control group, 6 out of 8 rabbits showed corneal melting after injury (14 +/- 4) days, while two corneal perforated. In collagen cross-linking treatment group, one rabbit showed corneal melting after injury 23 days, without corneal perforation; corneal dissolution rate between the two groups was significantly different (P <0.05). Pathological examination suggested that in the treatment group, mild corneal edema, mild damage to collagen fibers, inflammatory cell infiltration was significantly less than the control group. Immunohistochemistry showed that corneal collagen fibers arranged in neat rows in the control group. CONCLUSION: Collagen cross-linking treatment not only can prevent and delay the corneal melting after alkali burn, but also can reduce the destruction of corneal collagen fibers and infiltration of inflammatory cells in the corneal tissue.

Corneal collagen cross-linking and liposomal amphotericin B combination therapy for fungal keratitis in rabbits

AIM： To observe the therapeutic effect of corneal collagen cross-linking（CXL） in combination with liposomal amphotericin B in fungal corneal ulcers.METHODS： New Zealand rabbits were induced fungal corneal ulcers by scratching and randomly divided into 3groups, i.e. control, treated with CXL, and combined therapy of CXL with 0.25% liposomal amphotericin B（n =5 each）. The corneal lesions were documented with slit-lamp and confocal microscopy on 3, 7, 14, 21 and 28 d after treatment. The corneas were examined with transmission electron microscopy（TEM） at 4wk.RESULTS： A rabbit corneal ulcer model of Fusarium was successfully established. The corneal epithelium defect areas in the two treatment groups were smaller than that in the control group on 3, 7, 14 and 21d（P 〈0.05）. The corneal epithelium defect areas of the combined group was smaller than that of the CXL group（P 〈0.05） on 7 and 14 d, but there were no statistical differences on 3, 21 and 28 d. The corneal epithelium defects of the two treatment groups have been healed by day 21. The corneal epithelium defects of the control group were healed on 28 d. The diameters of the corneal collagen fiber bundles（42.960 ±7.383 nm in the CXL group and 37.040±4.160 nm in the combined group） were thicker than that of the control group（24.900±1.868 nm）,but there was no difference between the two treatment groups. Some corneal collagen fiber bundles were distorted and with irregular arrangement, a large number of fibroblasts could be seen among them but no inflammatory cells in both treatment groups. CONCLUSION： CXL combined with liposomal amphotericin B have beneficial effects on fungal corneal ulcers. The combined therapy could alleviate corneal inflammattions, accelerate corneal repair, and shorten the course of disease.

不同照射方式下核黄素-A波紫外线兔巩膜胶原交联术对兔巩膜成纤维细胞生物力学特性的影响

目的研究不同照射方式下核黄素-A波紫外线兔巩膜胶原交联术对兔巩膜成纤维细胞生物力学特性的影响。方法取健康新西兰大白兔24只,随机将兔平均分为A、B两组,每组选取左眼为实验眼,右眼为对照眼。麻醉后暴露左眼鼻上方巩膜。在该处巩膜滴加5-磷酸核黄素5 min后,用波长为370 nm的紫外线灯照射。A组的照射时间为30 min,能量密度为3.0 mW·cm^-2;B组的照射时间为9 min,能量密度为10.0 mW·cm^-2。照射期间,每2 min滴加1次5-磷酸核黄素溶液,以保持巩膜的湿润。术后60 d,处死实验兔,培养实验眼交联部位及对照眼相应部位的巩膜成纤维细胞,用细胞微管吸吮实验检测巩膜成纤维细胞的杨氏模量、表观黏性。结果 A、B两组实验眼巩膜细胞的杨氏模量、表观黏性均较各自对照眼显著增强,差异均有统计学意义(均为P<0.05);而A、B两组实验眼间、及对照眼间巩膜细胞的杨氏模量、表观黏性差异无统计学意义(均为P>0.05)。以上结果表明,交联术后巩膜细胞的黏弹性发生了明显的变化,黏弹性显著升高。而两种照射方式之间巩膜细胞的黏弹性无显著差异。结论两种不同的照射方式,均能使巩膜成纤维细胞的生物力学性能发生显著增强,而两种照射方式之间并未见明显的差别。