Immunological mechanism of neuroprotection function of Copolymer 1 in elevated intraocular pressure in rats

Objective To explore the lmmunological mechanism of neuroprotection function of Copolymer 1 (Cop 1) in rat chronic elevated intraocular pressure model. Methods Elevated intraocular pressure model of both eyes were established in 27 rats by cauterization of episcleral veins. Three weeks after elevation of intraocular pressure, 12 rats were immunized by intracutaneous injection of mixture of Cop 1 (100 mu g) emulsified in complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) at two hind footpads (experiment group), another 12 rats were injected with the same volume of PBS emulsified in CFA (control group), and the other 3 rats received no treatment (blank control group). One week later, lymphocytes from spleen were isolated, T cell subset was detected by flow cytometry, cytokine secretion of T cells was determined by ELISA, and the proliferation of lymphocytes was examined by [ super(3)H] thymidine labeling. Results CD4 super(+) CD25 super(+) Treg/CD4 super(+) in experiment group was significantly higher than those in control group