Abstract
Purpose :
To investigate the therapeutic effects of diquafosol sodium (DQS) and tocopherol acetate (TCP) mixture in a mouse model of experimental dry eye (EDE).
Methods :
After being exposed to desiccating stress for 5 days, mice were treated with eye drops consisting of 3% DQS alone or mixed with 0.005% or 0.01% TCP. Tear volume, tear film break-up time (TBUT), corneal fluorescein staining scores (CFSS), and tear film lipid layer grades (TFLLG) were measured at 0, 5 and 10 days after treatment. Ten days after treatment, the ROS production, MDA levels, and CD4+interferon (IFN)-γ+ T cells were measured in the cornea and conjunctiva, and the levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and chemokine CC motif ligand 4 (CCL4), and counts of goblet cells were measured in the conjunctiva.
Results :
TBUT of the DQS and 0.005% or 0.01% TCP mixture group showed significant increases at 10 days after treatment, compared with the EDE and DQS alone groups (P < 0.05). CFSS significantly decreased in the DQS and 0.01% TCP mixture group when compared with EDE and DQS alone groups at 5 and 10 days after treatment (P < 0.05). The DQS and 0.01% TCP mixture group showed a significant increase in TFLLG compared with the EDE and DQS alone groups at 10 days after treatment (P < 0.05). DQS mixed with 0.005% or 0.01% TCP group showed lower ROS production and MDA levels than in the EDE and DQS alone groups (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the DQS and 0.01% TCP mixture group also showed higher conjunctival goblet cell density, and lower CD4+ IFN-γ+ T cells, and levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, and CCL4 than in the EDE and DQS alone groups (P < 0.05).
Conclusions :
The DQS and TCP mixture eye drops had a beneficial effect on the tear films and ocular surface of murine dry eye. When compared to DQS eye drops, the application of DQS and TCP mixture eye drops can be more effective by improving clinical parameters including TFLLG, TBUT, and CFSS, reducing ROS, inflammatory molecules, and T cells, and increasing conjunctival goblet cell density for EDE.
This is a 2021 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.