Distribution of CD8 and CD68 Positive Cells in Acid Corneal Burns in Rabbits

Acids are generally less harmful than alkali substances. They cause damage by denaturing and precipitating proteins in the tissues they contact. The coagulated proteins act as a barrier to prevent further penetration. The one exception to this is hydrofluoric acid (HFA), where the fluoride ion rapidly penetrates the thickness of the cornea and causes significant anterior segment destruction. HFA are associated with chronic, severe inflammation of the ocular surface that occasionally lead to corneal stem cell deficiencies. The purpose of this study is to examine the localization and distribution of CD8 and CD68 positive cells in cornea burned with HFA in the rabbit. For this purpose, 72 mature male New Zealand rabbits were used. Under general anesthesia, after a corneal burn was formed by hydrofluoric acid, drug treatments of DMSO, indomethacin and DMSO+indomethacin were performed. The animals were euthanized on the 2nd, 7th and 14th days of the experiment and each cornea was fixed in 10% neutral formol solution. There was no difference among the control, DMSO and DMSO+indomethacin groups in terms of CD8 and CD68 expression. But, there were differences between the days of application. On the 2nd and 7th days of experiments, the number of CD8 and CD68positive cells in the corneal stroma were increased. Because inflammation decreased in 14 days, the numbers of CD8 and CD68 positive cells were decreased in other groups except indomethacin. In conclusion, these findings indicate that there is no difference between the groups and CD8 and CD68 positive cells were increased during the inflammation period