Characterizing inflammatory, nerve innervation, and immune alterations in three dry eye disease animal models

Dry eye disease (DED) is a prevalent ocular surface disorder worldwide, which impairs billions of people's visual related life quality. A comprehensive understanding of DED animal models is crucial for drug screening and development. Yet, a systematic comparative evaluation of various DED models is lacking. Here, we comprehensively evaluated the common and distinct features of DED models induced by desiccating stress (DS), benzalkonium chloride (BAC) and lacrimal gland excision (LGE). Results revealed that BAC group exhibited the most extensive ocular surface damage and inflammatory response. Notably, the Th17 response was pronounced in BAC-induced model. LGE group developed evident corneal nerve impairments. Overall, these findings indicated that the innate features of different DED animal models should be considered when exploring the inflammatory pathway or nerve dysfunction mechanisms.