Involvement of Oxidative Stress on Corneal Epithelial

PURPOSE. To investigate whether oxidative stress is involved in the etiology of the corneal disorder in blink-suppressed dry eye in a clinically relevant in vivo rat model. METHODS. A series of treatments were performed under con-tinuous exposure to low-humidity airflow. Rats were placed on a jogging board (JB) made of a plastic pipe for 7.5 h/d, and for 16.5 hours, they were placed in individual cages without a JB. This protocol was repeated for up to 30 days. Corneal surface alteration was evaluated by the score of punctate fluorescein staining. To assess oxidative stress status, the levels of damaged DNA, and the protein modification by reactive aldehydes in corneal epithelia were detected by immunohistochemistry, using 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine, 4-hydroxynonenal- and ma-londialdehyde-specific antibodies. RESULTS. Significant increases in the fluorescein staining scor