Biphasic ocular inflammatory response to endotoxin-induced uveitis in the mouse

Abstract

Objective: To examine the kinetics and mechanisms of endotoxin-induced uveitis in the mouse. Methods: C3H/HeN mice were injected subcutaneously with 0.3 mg of Salmonella typhimurium lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in 0.1 mL of phosphate-buffered saline solution or phosphate-buffered saline solution alone in 3 separate experiments; mice were killed after 1, 3, 5, and 7 days. In 2 other separate experiments, mice were killed 1, 3, 6, and 24 hours after LPS injection. All eyes were collected for histological examination, immunohistochemical analyses; aqueous protein level determination, and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction for ocular interleukin (IL) 1α, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor α, and granulocyte-macrophage colony- stimulating factor messenger RNA (mRNA). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to measure tumor necrosis factor α and IL-6 levels in aqueous and serum samples. Results: Results were consistent for all experiments. Numbers of ocular inflammatory cells and levels of aqueous protein peaked 1 and 5 days after LPS injection. Control mice did not develop inflammation. Serum and aqueous IL-6 and ocular IL-6 mRNA levels peaked at 1 day and subsided at 3 days. However, ocular IL-1α, tumor necrosis factor α, and granulocyte- macrophage colony-stimulating factor mRNA appeared, peaked, and sub-sided at 3, 5, and 7 days, respectively. Predominant infiltrating cells were neutrophils at 1 day and macrophages at 5 days. Although no ocular inflammatory cells were detected before 24 hours after LPS injection, tumor necrosis factor α mRNA was noticed at 1 hour, peaked at 3 hours, and disappeared at 6 hours and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor mRNA was spotted only at 3 hours after LPS injection. Conclusions: The ocular inflammatory response to C3H/HeN mouse endotoxin-induced uveitis is biphasic for 7 days. The first wave appears at day 1 and subsides by day 3. A second, higher peak appears at day 5. The 2 inflammatory waves are related to the kinetics of the different cytokines released in the eye. This is in contrast to the rat monophasic endotoxin-induced uveitis model, which has only one peak of intense inflammation associated with cytokine release. Clinical Relevance: A biphasic inflammatory response associated with cytokine release lasting several days is observed in C3H/HeN mice with endotoxin-induced uveitis. Because human anterior uveitis has a tendency to be recurrent in nature, this might be a better experimental model.