In Vivo Efficacy of Histatin-1 in a Rabbit Animal Model.

Unlabelled: Purpose/Aim: Corneal abrasions and nonhealing corneal epithelial defects are common conditions that cause pain and sometimes are slow to heal. Histatins, a family of histidine-rich peptides, have been implicated in oral and skin epithelial wound healing, and have been shown to be effective in vitro in human corneal epithelial cells. The objective of this study was to test the efficacy of histatin-1 on corneal epithelial wound healing in rabbits.

Modulation of HLA-DR in dry eye patients following 30 days of treatment with a lubricant eyedrop solution.

Purpose: To determine the changes in dry eye disease (DED) severity and the percentage of cells expressing HLA-DR on the ocular surface following treatment with lubricant eyedrops containing polyethylene glycol and propylene glycol (PEG/PG) and the gelling agent hydroxypropyl guar (HP-Guar).

Patients And Methods: Nineteen patients with DED used PEG/PG + HP-Guar eyedrops four times per day for 30 days. Assessments included DED severity (Ocular Surface Disease Index [OSDI], corneal staining, conjunctival staining, tear film break-up time [TFBUT], and Schirmer testing) and impression cytology of the conjunctiva with masked flow cytometry at baseline and at 30 days.

HLA-DR expression as a biomarker of inflammation for multicenter clinical trials of ocular surface disease.

There are currently no validated minimally invasive objective metrics for the classification and evaluation of ocular surface diseases and/or for evaluating treatment efficacy. We thus sought to establish a standardized methodology for determining the relative amount of the inflammatory biomarker HLA-DR on the ocular surface and to evaluate the precision, reliability and repeatability of its use for large multicenter clinical trials and translational research studies of ocular surface disease. Multiple studies were conducted to establish a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for utilizing HLA-DR expression as a minimally invasive, objective, ocular surface inflammatory biomarker.

sPLA2-IIa amplifies ocular surface inflammation in the experimental dry eye (DE) BALB/c mouse model.

Purpose: sPLA2-IIa is a biomarker for many inflammatory diseases in humans and is found at high levels in human tears. However, its role in ocular surface inflammation remains unclear. An experimentally induced BALB/c mouse dry eye (DE) model was used to elucidate the role of sPLA2-IIa in ocular surface inflammation.

Evaluation of biomarkers of inflammation in response to benzalkonium chloride on corneal and conjunctival epithelial cells.

Purpose: Most eye drops contain preservatives; benzalkonium chloride (BAK) is most common. Recent data demonstrated BAK adding to toxicity. BAK is degraded into hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)), which in even small amounts is known to be an irritant.

Comparative toxicity of preservatives on immortalized corneal and conjunctival epithelial cells.

Purpose: Nearly all eye drops contain preservatives to decrease contamination. Nonpreservatives such as disodium-ethylene diamine tetra-acetate (EDTA) and phosphate-buffered saline are also regularly added as buffering agents. These components can add to the toxicity of eye drops and cause ocular surface disease.

Evaluation of toxicity of commercial ophthalmic fluoroquinolone antibiotics as assessed on immortalized corneal and conjunctival epithelial cells.

Purpose: To evaluate the toxicity of a variety of the fluoroquinolone antibiotics on the ocular surface by using tissue culture models of corneal epithelial cells and conjunctival epithelial cells.

Methods: Immortalized conjunctival (CCC) and human corneal (HCE) epithelial cells were grown and when confluent the cells allowed to air dry for 1 hour. Medium was then replaced with 100 microL of one of the following: 1) Vigamox [moxifloxacin (0.

P63 expression levels in side population and low light scattering ocular surface epithelial cells.

Purpose: Because stem cells exhibit high self-renewal capacity, slow cycling, and high proliferative potential, and one of many markers postulated for epithelial stem cells, p63, is challenged by widespread expression within stem cell-free regions, we examined p63 expression in these stem cell-associated cohorts compared with their controls.

Methods: Rabbit limbocorneal cryosections, cytospun cell-sorted (by fluorescence-activated cell sorter) side population (SP) and low side scatter (LSSC) cells, and limbal epithelial cells over feeders were stained for p63 by indirect immunofluorescence. Clones were fixed and stained daily for 7 days.

Susceptibility testing of clinical isolates of pseudomonas aeruginosa to levofloxacin, moxifloxacin, and gatifloxacin as a guide to treating pseudomonas ocular infections.

Purpose: Pseudomonas aeruginosa ocular infections most frequently originate from an environmental source; successful treatment with various ocular antibiotics is well established. However, emergence of resistant clones to available antibiotics poses a real threat to successful treatment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the antibiotic susceptibilities of 100 random clinical isolates of P.

Efficacy of topical cobalt chelate CTC-96 against adenovirus in a cell culture model and against adenovirus keratoconjunctivitis in a rabbit model.

Background: Adenovirus (Ad), associated with significant morbidity, has no topical treatment. A leading CTC compound (CTC-96), a Co(III) chelate, was found to have potent in vitro and in vivo antiviral efficacy against herpes viruses. In this study CTC-96 is being tested for possible anti-Adenovirus activity.