Abstract
Purpose: :
To evaluate the potential effects of azithromycin (AZM)in ameliorating dry eye disease (DED).
Methods: :
Dry eye disease (DED) was induced in female C57BL/6 mice by exposing them to a controlled desiccating environment chamber. 1% AZM ophthalmic solution (AzaSite®; Inspire Pharmaceuticals, Inc, NC, USA) and relative vehicle were topically applied to different groups of DED mice (n = 8 eyes/group) 2x/daily. DED was scored by corneal fluorescein staining (CFS). CD11b+ infiltration was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Expression level of cytokine IL-1β was quantified by real-time PCR.
Results: :
Compared to the vehicle control, the AZM-treated group showed a reduction in CFS at days 5 and 14 by 36% (P=0.0002) and 19% (P=0.1), respectively. The expression level of inflammatory cytokine IL-1β was decreased by half at day 14 in the AZM treated group. There was no significant difference in CD11b+ cell infiltration between treated and untreated groups.
Conclusions: :
Following DED induction, topical AZM reduces the progression of DED at days 5 and 14. This was supported by a reduction in IL-1β expression. This data suggest that topical AZM could be an effective therapeutic modality for the DED treatment.Research support: Inspire Pharmaceuticals (R. Dana)
Keywords: cornea: tears/tear film/dry eye • inflammation • immunomodulation/immunoregulation