Effects of antibiotics on morphologic characteristics and migration of canine corneal epithelial cells in tissue culture

Objective-To determine effects of commonly used ophthalmic antibiotics on c ellular morphologic characteristics and migration of canine corneal epithel ium in cell culture. Sample Population-Corneal epithelial cells harvested from corneas of 12 eut hanatized dogs and propagated in cell culture. Procedure-Cells were treated with various antibiotics after a defect was cr eated in the monolayer. Cellular morphologic characteristics and closure of the defect were compared between antibiotic-treated and control cells. Results-Cells treated with ciprofloxacin and cefazolin had the greatest deg ree of rounding, shrinkage, and detachment from plates. Cells treated with neomycin-polymyxin B-gramicidin and gentamicin sulfate had rounding and shr inkage but with less detachment. Cells treated with tobramycin and chloramp henicol grew similarly to control cells. On the basis of comparisons of def ect circumference between control cells and cells exposed to antibiotics, t obramycin affected cellular migration the least. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-Effects of ciprofloxacin and cefazolin o n morphologic characteristics of canine corneal epithelial cells in vitro s hould be taken into consideration before using these antibiotics for first- line of treatment for noninfected ulcers. Of the antibiotics tested that ha ve a primarily gramnegative spectrum of coverage, gentamicin inhibited corn eal epithelial cell migration and had greater cytopathologic effects than t obramycin did. For antibiotics with a gram-positive coverage, chloramphenic ol had no cytopathologic effects on cells in comparison to cefazolin, which caused most of the cells to shrink and detach from the plate. Polymyxin B- neomycin-gramicidin was midrange in its effects on cellular morphologic cha racteristics and migration.