| Introduction: Although the exact etiologies of dry eye syndrome are varied and still unclear, it has been agreed that underlying inflammatory process and the deficiency of mucins play an important role. How to interrupt these processes has been a hotspot in the treatment of dry eye syndrome. This experiment was to study the effects of 1% Gefarnate eye drops on the proliferation of goblet cells in the treatment of ocular surface after alkali injury and to investigate whether there were some cooperative interactions when combined with 0.5% Ketorolac Tromethamine. Material and Methods: Goblet cells were destroyed by alkali injury to generate a dry eye model in 80 New Zealand rabbits, after injury, these animals were randomized into the following 4 groups, group 1: dripped with 0.9% sodium chloride, group 2: dripped with 1% Gefarnate, group 3: 0.5% Ketorolac Tromethamine, and group 4: 1% Gefarnate combined with 0.5% Ketorolac Tromethamine, 4 times a day for 4 weeks. Evaluation of the ocular surface and impression cytology were performed on the 1st day after injury and weekly thereafter, additional, on the 1st and 4th week, immunohistochemistry and scanning electron microscopy were performed. Results: The state of ocular surface was improved significantly in groups 2 and 4 (P<0.05); Impression cytology and immunohistochemistry showed that the density of goblet cells and quantity of Muc5ac positive cells were significantly higher in groups 2 and 4 than those in other two groups (P<0.05); and there were less inflammatory cells in groups 3 and 4 than those in group 1 and 2 (P<0.05); Additional, there is negative correlation between the change of inflammatory cells and that of goblet cells (r= -0.440, P<0.001); and the scanning electron microscopy demonstrated that the number of goblet cells increased and the secretion improved in groups 2, 4 too (P<0.05). Discussion: 1% Gefarnate can stimulate the proliferation of goblet cells and the secretion of Muc5ac; 0.5% Ketorolac Tromethamine shows strong anti-inflammatory effects; when combined, it demonstrated the best effects and maybe a better and more efficient approach for the treatment of dry eye syndrome induced by alkali injury. |
