Farelerde Deneysel Alerjik Konjonktivit Modeli Oluşturulması

Pur po se: To develop an animal model that simulates human allergic conjunctivitis to understand the physiopathogenesis of allergic\uddiseases and for developing novel therapeutic interventions.\udMa te ri al and Met hod: BALB/c mice (12 males) were divided into two groups each comprised of six mice. For sensitization, on the\ud1st and 8th days, a 0.2 ml mixed solution, adjusted to a concentration to 5mg/ml of ovalbumin (OVA) and 15mg/ml of aluminium\udhydroxide, was administered intraperitoneally to the mice in Group 1 and 0.2 ml saline solution to the mice in Group 2. To induce experimental allergic conjunctivitis, an antigen challenge was made on days 15 and 18, using an OVA solution (5mg/ml) instilled into\udboth eyes of the mice in Group 1; while the mice in Group 2 received Human Balanced Salt Solution instead of OVA. For the clinical\udevaluation, the occurrence of conjunctival and palpebral oedema, conjunctival hyperaemia, and lacrimation were observed. For the\udhistological examination, eyeballs, eyelids, and lacrimal glands were removed and prepared according to the routine processing method\udof the tissue laboratory. Immunohistochemical examination was made with mast cell tryptase using the labeled streptavidin–biotin\udamplification method and 3.3´-diaminobenzidine, in addition to hematoxylin-eosin (HE), and toluidine blue (TB) staining.\udRe sults: Evident conjunctival oedema, palpebral oedema, conjunctival hyperaemia, and lacrimation were observed in Group 1. Mean mast cell\uddensity in cells/mm2, infiltrating the subconjunctival tissue was significantly high in Group 1 (allergy group, 23.17±7.46, p<0.0001) when\udcompared to Group 2 (5.58±3.12). There was no increase in eosinophil and lymphocyte counts as well as vascular intensity in the subconjunctival\udtissue in any group.\udDis cus si on: The murine model developed is similar to the human allergic conjunctivitis both clinically and histopathologically and can\udbe used as a template for future studies. (Turk J Ophthalmol 2012; 42: 418-22