Abstract
Purpose:
To compare the viability of human corneal epithelial (HCE) cells treated with the new anti-VEGF agent Aflibercept, with those treated with Bevacizumab.
Methods:
Experiments were performed using HCE cell line. HCE cells were seeded and cultured with our culture medium. Subsequently, to synchronize cultures, we substituted the initial culture medium for a medium with 1% bovine serum albumin (BSA) and incubation proceeded overnight. The HCE cells were treated with 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 o 2.0 mg/ml Bevacizumab or 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 o 2.0 mg/ml Aflibercept containing DMEN:F12 medium supplemented with 15% fetal bovine serum for 24 hours. Cell viability was measured by an 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) colorimetric assay after incubating with the 3 different doses of Bevacizumab and Aflibercept.
Results:
The results show that only those cells treated with 2.0 mg/ml of Bevacizumab present statistically significant differences (p<0.01) with control. The viability of the cells treated with Aflibercept do not show statistically significant differences compared to control.
Conclusions:
The cell viability assay shows that Aflibercept therapy appears to be at least as safe as treatment with Bevacizumab for HCE cells. Since Aflibercept has been proposed as a possible topical treatment of corneal neovascularization, more comprehensive safety studies are required.