A novel rat contact lens model for Fusarium keratitis.
Mol Vis
; 19: 2596-605, 2013.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-24379647
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE:
The aim of this study was to develop and characterize a new contact lens-associated fungal keratitis rat model and to assess the ability of non-invasive spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) to detect pathological changes in vivo in fungal keratitis.METHODS:
We used SD-OCT to image and measure the cornea of Sprague Dawley rats. Fusarium infection was initiated in the rat eye by fitting Fusarium solani-soaked contact lenses on the experimental eye, while the control animals received contact lenses soaked in sterile saline. The fungal infection was monitored with periodic slit-lamp examination and in vivo SD-OCT imaging of the rat eye, and confirmed by histology, counting of viable fungi in the infected rat cornea, and PCR with specific primers for Fusarium sp.RESULTS:
We imaged and measured the rat cornea with SD-OCT. Custom-made contact lenses were developed based on the OCT measurements. Incubation of contact lenses in a F. solani suspension resulted in biofilm formation. We induced contact lens-associated Fusarium keratitis by fitting the rat eyes for 4 h with the Fusarium-contaminated contact lenses. The SD-OCT images of the cornea correlated well with the slit-lamp and histopathological results and clearly defined clinical signs of infection, namely, increased corneal thickening, loss of epithelial continuity, hyper-reflective areas representing infiltrates, and endothelial plaques characteristic of fungal infection. Moreover, in three cases, SD-OCT detected the infection without any clear findings on slit-lamp examination. Infection was confirmed with histological fungal staining, PCR, and microbiological culture positivity.CONCLUSIONS:
We developed a highly reproducible rat contact lens model and successfully induced contact lens-associated Fusarium keratitis in this model. The clinical presentation of contact lens-associated Fusarium keratitis in the rat model is similar to the human condition. SD-OCT is a valuable tool that non-invasively revealed characteristic signs of the fungal infection and could provide sensitive, objective monitoring in fungal keratitis.
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Infecções Oculares Fúngicas
/
Lentes de Contato
/
Fusariose
/
Ceratite
Tipo de estudo:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
Limite:
Animals
/
Female
/
Humans
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2013
Tipo de documento:
Article