[Effect of ultraviolet-B irradiation pretreatment on a second-set rejection model of orthotopic corneal grafts].

Purpose: To investigate the effect of ultraviolet-B irradiation (UV-B) on the donor cornea in a second-set rejection model of rat orthotopic corneal transplantation.

Materials And Methods: Three patterns of fully mismatched allogeneic bilateral orthotopic corneal transplantations (DA to AO) after 10-week interval were studied: Untreated primary corneal grafts into the right eyes followed by untreated secondary grafts into the left eyes, UV-B treated primary corneal grafts into the right eyes followed by untreated secondary grafts into the left eyes, and untreated primary corneal grafts into the right eyes followed by UV-B treated secondary grafts into the left eyes.

Results: The rejection of untreated secondary grafts was hastened in recipients who had previously rejected untreated primary grafts (p = 0.