title: Development of a novel ex vivo model of corneal fungal adherence.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To construct a suitable ex vivo model for the research of molecular mechanisms and the pharmacological screening of fungal adherence on the corneal surface.
  
  
  METHODS
  Mouse eyes were divided into three groups as follows: a control group with normal corneal epithelium, a group with corneal epithelium that was needle-scarified, and a group with corneal epithelium that was completely debrided. All 96 corneas were placed in organ culture and inoculated with 5 μl spore suspensions of Candida albicans at 10⁹, 10⁸, or 10⁷ colony-forming units (CFU)/ml and incubated for 0, 30, 60, or 120 min. The corneas were homogenated and diluted for quantification by counting the CFU. The effects of amphotericin B or chondroitin sulfate on the adherence of the fungal spores were evaluated with the ex vivo organ culture model and were also compared with the human corneal epithelium monolayer model in vitro.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with the normal corneas with intact epithelium, the corneas with scarified and debrided epithelium adhered more spores for above two and four folds. The spore adhesion on the corneal surface was in an inoculation concentration- and incubation time-dependent manner. Moreover, both amphotericin B and chondroitin sulfate inhibited the adhesion of C. albicans spores on the corneal surface, but the inhibitory rates were different between the ex vivo corneal organ culture model and the in vitro corneal epithelium monolayer model.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The corneal organ culture was a suitable ex vivo model for the research of fungal adhesion mechanisms and drug screening.
authors.affiliation: Shandong Provincial Key Lab of Ophthalmology, Shandong Eye Institute, Qingdao, 266071, China.
authors.forename: Qingjun
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Mingli
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Lingling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Lixin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xie
mesh_terms: D000666:Amphotericin B / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000502:physiology*; D002177:Candidiasis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D002809:Chondroitin Sulfates / Q000494:pharmacology; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003315:Cornea / Q000382:microbiology*; D065306:Corneal Injuries; D003320:Corneal Ulcer / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D015821:Eye Infections, Fungal / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000666:Amphotericin B; D002809:Chondroitin Sulfates