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

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.

Twenty-two (22) rabbits were separated into four treatment groups, each containing 3-7 rabbits. Treatments included three histatin-1 formulations (0.1 ug/ml. 1 ug/ml, and 10 ug/ml) and one inactive vehicle, one drop given three times per day. Eight (8) mm circular wounds were created using 0.5 ml of 20% ethyl alcohol in the right eye of each rabbit. A masked observer photographed each eye twice daily using slit-lamp biomicrophotography. Wound area was analyzed by using ImageJ. Statistical analysis was conducted using Graphpad Prism.

Wound recovery was faster in animals given 0.1 ug/ml, 1 ug/ml, and 10 ug/ml when compared to the vehicle solution at 6, 24, and 30 hours after wound creation (p < 0.01). No adverse events were observed in any eyes. When analyzing area under the curve, % recovered area was higher overall in the 0.1 ug/ml (p < 0.01), 1 ug/ml (p < 0.01), and 10 ug/ml (p < 0.001) groups when compared to the vehicle solution. Hourly healing rate was also observed to be faster in the 0.1 ug/ml, 1 ug/ml, and 10 ug/ml groups (p < 0.001) at 24 hours postinjury suggesting an accelerated healing process as compared to the vehicle group.

This study represents the first in vivo experiment evaluating and confirming the efficacy of topical histatin on the corneal epithelium wound healing. Further studiesare warranted to better understand the mechanism and safety of topical histatin-1 in corneal epithelial wound-healing and its potential role for human disease treatment.