title: Should corneas from donors receiving a high dose of salicylate be used as grafts: an animal experimentation.
abstract: Rabbits were injected intravenously with a single dose of sodium salicylate (350 mg kg-1) in order to study the following in vivo: (i) the distribution of the drug in the various eye tissues and fluids, particularly the cornea and aqueous humour, and (ii) transfer of the drug from corneal grafts obtained from donors receiving sodium salicylate to the eye tissues of the recipient. In additional experiments, the in vitro effects of sodium salicylate on the growth and protein synthesis of corneal cells grown in tissue culture were also studied. In vivo experiments showed that the periods during which we observed the highest concentration of salicylate in the serum and in the eye tissues were within 30 min and 2 hr respectively following the injection. These experiments also showed that salicylate was transferred from the treated donor via corneal graft to the recipient's eye tissues where it could still be detected 48 hr after the operation. In vitro experiments showed that a 50% inhibition of cell growth was obtained at a concentration of about 1000 micrograms salicylate ml-1 while protein synthesis was decreased by 50% at a concentration of about 200 micrograms ml-1. A consideration of our data from the in vivo and in vitro experiments together suggests that ingestion by the donor of high concentrations of salicylate may have the potentiality of subjecting the corneal endothelial cells to cytotoxic concentrations of the drug thus jeopardizing the success rate of corneal graft operations.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D003315:Cornea / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D016039:Corneal Transplantation; D046508:Culture Techniques; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005123:Eye / Q000378:metabolism; D005136:Eye Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011817:Rabbits; D012980:Sodium Salicylate / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D005136:Eye Proteins; D012980:Sodium Salicylate