The suppression of acute corneal inflammation by Bredinin

This study tested the effect of Bredinin, a nucleoside antibiotic of fungal origin, on experimentally induced acute inflammation of the rabbit cornea. Inflammation was produced by abrasive removal of a 9 mm disk of corneal epithelium. In the dose-response experiments, one eye of each rabbit was treated topically with Bredinin, and the other eye with vehicle immediately after deepithelialization. The acute inflammatory leukocytes in tear film samples were counted at various times and the corneas were examined histologically at the end of the study. A paired t-test revealed that the numbers of acute inflammatory leukocytes after 5 hours were significantly less in the Bredinin-treated eyes, compared with the untreated eyes. The timing of drug-treatment was important; Bredinin was most effective in suppressing acute ocular inflammation when administered at, or within, one hour of the inflammatory stimulus. Histologic analysis demonstrated fewer acute inflammatory leukocytes on the ocular surface and in the stroma of the Bredinin-treated eyes, compared with the untreated eyes. No obvious corneal toxicity was noted, and the drug-treated eyes appeared less inflamed than the control eyes. The results of this study demonstrate the capacity of Bredinin to suppress the entry of inflammatory leukocytes into the tear film and suggest that this drug may have potential for use as a topical anti-inflammatory agent.