[Assessment of anti-proliferative and anti-inflammatory drugs for treatment of ocular fibroblast proliferation using...

Controlling ocular fibroblast proliferation may significantly improve the effectiveness of glaucoma filtration surgery. Drugs for the inhibition of fibroblast growth are currently in clinical use. However, systemic studies of drugs with different mechanisms of action have not been performed on human ocular fibroblasts. We have developed a method to evaluate the effect of chemotherapeutic agents on fibroblast proliferation, motility, and dynamic morphology. This involves the use of an automated microscope system designed for quantitative measurement of movement and morphology of live cells in tissue culture. This technique was tested on an established tissue culture fibroblast (3T3 cells) and then applied to secondary culture of human scleral and subconjunctival fibroblasts. 5-fluorouracil and colchicine were tested for their effect on fibroblast behaviour. Our data indicated that colchicine was more effective than 5-fluorouracil in inhibiting fibroblast proliferation and movement, and in changing morphology. Using this system, fundamental biological effects of various pharmacological manipulations could be studied in vitro prior to in vivo applications.