DICHLOROTRIAZINYL AMINOFLUORESCEIN INHIBITS HUMAN KERATOCYTE PROLIFERATION IN-VITRO

PURPOSE: Dichlorotriazinyl aminofluorescein (DTAF) has been used to st ain corneal stromal collagen as part of in vivo experimentation. Toxic ity of this drug, if present, might alter the observed wound healing. To determine if this drug has any deleterious effect on keratocytes, w e evaluated it in vitro. METHODS: Human keratocytes in 96 well plates were exposed to different concentrations of DTAF (10e-7, 10e-6, 10e-5, 10e-4, 10e-3, 10e-2, and 10e-1 mg/ml of media). Exposure times of 1 a nd 24 hours at each concentration of DTAF were evaluated. The cell num ber was measured 1 and 3 days after exposure to the drug using a coult er-counter and a hemocytometer. RESULTS: The proliferation of keratocy tes after 24 hours of exposure to the drug was inhibited in a dose dep endent manner by DTAF, but I hour exposure of keratocytes to the drug did not inhibit keratocyte proliferation. CONCLUSION: These results su ggest that DTAF has inhibitory effects on human keratocyte proliferati on after 24 hours of exposure, while exposure limited to 1 hour does n ot induce such a change.