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Effects of amniotic membrane suspension in the rat alkali burn model
Jin A Choi1, Jun-Sub Choi, Choun-Ki Joo
1Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, St. Vincent Hospital, College of Medicine, the Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea. ckjoo@catholic.ac.kr
Purpose:
The main objective of this study is to determine the anti-inflammatory effect of topical amniotic membrane (AM) suspension on corneal alkali burn compared to topical serum eyedrops.
Methods:
Thirty eyes from 30 Sprague-Dawley male rats were used. After alkali injuries using 1 N NaOH, the control group (n = 10) received topical PBS four times a day for 2 days. The first study group received topical 30% AM suspension, and the second study group (n = 10) received topical 30% rat serum. Using slit lamp biomicroscopy, injured corneas were evaluated and scored in terms of re-epithelialization, corneal opacity, and neovascularization (NV). Tissue sections were analyzed histologically for cellular infiltration, and immunohistochemical staining was conducted using rat anti-mouse F4/80 antibody for the detection of macrophages.
Results:
In the inflammatory wound healing model, the epithelial healing ratios of the control group, the AM suspension group, and the serum eyedrop group were 1.8 ± 15.1%, 34.1 ± 17.7%, and 41.5 ± 16.1%, respectively (p < 0.0001). The opacity scores for the control group, the AM suspension group, and the serum eyedrop group 48 h after the insult were 4.8 ± 0.5, 3.4 ± 0.5, and 3.0 ± 0.8, respectively, showing a significant difference (p < 0.0001). Moreover, the NV scores for the control group, AM suspension group, and serum eyedrop group 48 h after the insult were 5.8 ± 0.9, 4.0 ± 1.3, and 4.3 ± 0.9 (p = 0.006). Upon immunohistochemical evaluation using F4/80, significantly fewer F4/80+ cells were recruited in the AM suspension and serum eyedrop groups than the control group (p = 0.027).
Conclusions:
The suspension form of the amniotic membrane promoted epithelial healing and reduced corneal opacity and NV in alkali burn. It also suppressed F4/80 expression in the corneal stroma, indicating that the AM suspension maintains its beneficial biochemical effect on inflammatory corneal wound healing in vivo.
