In vitro evaluation of ocular irritants using corneal protein profiles

This report represents the first application of tissue isoelectric focusing to establish reference human and rabbit corneal protein profiles and to study the corneal response to ocular irritants. The methods developed in this study provide a direct, semiquantitative comparison of tissue-irritant interactions without the potential limitations of standard homogenization and extraction procedures. The in vitro exposure of corneal sections to acetic acid (1 and 4%) and ammonium hydroxide (0.25 and 2%) solutions resulted in selective modifications of tissue protein profiles which were evaluated by scanning densitometry. Direct comparison of the rabbit and human corneal protein changes induced by in vitro irritant action revealed a similar acid/base effect on a common rabbit and human corneal protein band (pI 8.1).