RAPAMYCIN INHIBITS CORNEAL ALLOGRAFT-REJECTION AND NEOVASCULARIZATION

Objective: To investigate the immunosuppresive effect of rapamycin in prolonging allograft survival in the rat model of orthotopic allogenei c penetrating keratoplasty. Design: Thirty inbred Lewis rats received corneal allografts from Brown Norway donors. Animals were divided into two rapamycin treatment groups and one allogeneic control group. Resu lts: By the second week after surgery, all of the control animals had experienced allograft failure due to allograft rejection. However, all ografts in seven of 10 animals in the low-dose treatment group and all ografts in seven of nine animals in the high-dose treatment group rema ined clear. In addition, corneal neovascularization was markedly reduc ed in the treated animals. Conclusion: The systemic administration of rapamycin prolongs corneal allograft survival and significantly inhibi ts the neovascular component of rejection in the rat model of orthotop ic allogeneic penetrating keratoplasty.