The effects of moxifloxacin ophthalmic solution 0.5% or gatifloxacin ophthalmic solution 0.3% treatment on corneal wound healing in pigmented rabbits following anterior keratectomy

Purpose These studies examined corneal healing rates, Type-IV collagen and zonula occludens membrane-associated protein (ZO-1) expression, as well as aqueous PGE₂ and IL-1β concentrations in pigmented rabbits treated with either moxifloxacin 0.5%, gatifloxacin 0.3% or BSS^® following anterior keratectomy. Methods Anterior keratectomy surgery was followed by topical administration with commercial ophthalmic formulations of either moxifloxacin or gatifloxacin or BSS^® (TID for 96 h). Images of the fluorescein-stained healing corneas were analyzed for wound area. At 48 or 96 h following surgery, aqueous humor samples were collected and analyzed for the inflammatory mediators PGE₂ and IL-1β using an ELISA. The corneas were subsequently evaluated using both scanning and transmission electron microscopy. In a second parallel study, corneas were evaluated at both 48 and 96 h for Type-IV collagen and ZO-1 expression using immunohistochemistry. Results Fluorescein-stained corneal images at 96 h postsurgery demonstrated that 90% ± 8% re-epithelialization for moxifloxacin, 81% ± 14% for gatifloxacin, and 88 ± 6% for BSS ^® (P > 0.05). PGE₂levels in the aqueous humor of fluoroquinolone treated eyes were reduced at 48 h compared to BSS ^® treated eyes. IL-1β was undetectable in all samples. No differences in Type-IV collagen or ZO-1 expression were observed between any treatment groups. There were no differences between groups in histological appearance or in ultrastructural healing processes. Conclusions These studies demonstrated that the commercial ophthalmic formulations of moxifloxacin and gatifloxacin were similar to each other in their effects on the levels of aqueous humor PGE₂ and rates of corneal wound re-epithelialization.