Establishment of a tree shrew model of Fusarium keratitis / 中国实验动物学报

ABSTRACT

Objective To establish a tree shrew model of Fusarium solani keractitis by injecting Fusarium solani conidia into the corneal stroma.Methods Fusarium solani was inoculated into Sabouraud culture medium and incubated at 26℃ for 7 days.Fungal suspension was collected and the number of spores was adjusted to 1 × 1010 CFU /mL on the blood cell count plate.Forty healthy tree shrews were randomly divided into experimental group (n=30) and control group (n=10).In the experimental group, 50 μL of fungal spore suspension was injected into the cornea center with a 29G needle, and 50 μL saline was injected in the control group.The models were evaluated by anterior segment photography, in vivo confocal microscopy, histopathology, and corneal tissue culture.Results The fungal infiltration, the degree of edema of corneal epithelial and endothelial cells, and the number of mycelium were positively correlated with time.The number of infiltrating inflammatory cells, mainly, neutrophils, reached a peak on the 7th day after modeling.The mycelial growth was parallel to the stromal fibers.After the successful establishment of the model, the corneal tissue culture showed the growth of Fusarium solani.The successful rate of modeling was 86%.Conclusions The tree shrew model of Fusarium solani keratitis is established by injecting spores of Fusarium solani into the cornea.