Doxycycline inhibits the infiltration of inflammatory cells in rat alkali burn corneas

AIM: To investigate the inhibited effect of Doxycycline on the infiltration of inflammatory cells in rat alkali burn corneas. METHODS: Corneas of 32 SD rats were injured with 1mol/L NaOH, then divided into two groups: control and doxycycline-treated. All agents were administered topically 4 times daily. Slit-lamp microscope was performed and inflammatory index was calculated at 3, 7, 14 and 21 days after injury. Then 4 rats were randomly sacrificed and each cornea was divided into two parts, one for histopathology, the other for ICAM-1 ELISA assay. RESULTS:In control group, the inflammatory index and the number of inflammatory cell was higher than the doxycycline-treated dramatically at all time points(P