Experimental study on cervical lymph nodes removal enhance allograft survival in alkali-burned cornea

AIM: To explore the inhibitive effects of cervical lympha- denectomy on keratoplasy after alkaline burns. METHODS: The Wistar rats' corneas were transplanted into Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats' eyes which were randomly divided into 4 groups: group A (control group); group B, the cervical lymphadenectomy group; group C, corneal transplantation after the alkali burn injury; group D, cervical lymphaden- ectomy following group C. Out of 6 rats in each group, the cornea of one rat was used for macrophage immuno- histochemistry at day 14 after the transplantation, and the remaining 5 rats were used for studying corneal immune rejection with a slit lamp. The time when allograft rejection occurred was recorded and mean survival times (MST) were compared among the groups. RESULTS: Compared with the MST of group A (10.40±1.14 days),the MST of group B(46.30±9.46 days) was significantly longer (P <0.05). MST of grafts between group C (7.00±1.58 days) and group D (15.00±3.39 days) was also significant (P < 0.05). At 14^th day after the transplantation, there was no CD₆₈immunoreactivity in the graft of group B, and CD₆₈ proteins were expressed to some extent in the grafts of group A and D. However, in the graft of group C, the expression of proteins was dramatically up-regulated. CONCLUSION: Cervical lymphadenectomy therapy has a significant effect in preventing corneal allograft rejection in normal and alkali burned corneal beds.