The Effects of Aprotinin of Experimental Corneal Burn in Rabbits

ABSTRACT

Recently, many works to treat chronic corneal ulcer have been progressed. It has been reported that the Aprotinin, one of them, is serine protease inhibitor and is useful to treat therapy-resistant chronic corneal ulcer because it decreases the plasmin level in tear fluid that was increased in corneal ulcer. We performed this study to evaluate the effect of Aprotinin to the reepithelization of cornea according to its concentration. We made corneal burn in rabbits and instilled topical antibiotics and Aprotinin 500u/ml and 200u/ml, four times a day. After instillation, we compared the process of corneal epithelial wound healing, according to the time interval, clinically and histopathologically in each group. As a result, wound healing of cornea treated with combination of antibiotics and Aprotinin was delayed rather than that treated with antibiotics only. And combination therapy with Aprotinin 500n/ml is more effective than with Aprotinin 2000n/ml. This data suggests that high concentration of Aprotinin alone is not helpful to tresat the therapyresistant chronic corneal ulcer.