CORNEAL RESPONSE TO PSEUDOMONAS-AERUGINOSA - HISTOPATHOLOGICAL AND ENZYMATIC CHARACTERIZATION

Abstract

The [rabbit] host response to the intrastromal injection of heat-inactivated P. aeruginosa cells was studied. An extensive polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) infiltration, which progressed to ulceration within 1 wk, was observed. In some cases descemetoceles also developed. Only a limited degree of PMN infiltration and no ulcerations were observed at 1 wk in eyes treated with corticosteroids. Collagenase and proteolytic enzymes capable of degrading proteoglycans were found in the ulcerated corneas. A correlation was made between the level of these host-derived enzymes and the extent of corneal destruction. Corneal destruction by P. aeruginosa apparently depends on the Pseudomonas protease, which rapidly destroys the cornea, and on host-derived enzymes which are capable of degrading collagen and proteoglycans.