Ocular surface oxidative stress

Although there are available therapies for acute-moderate ocular surface diseases, there is a lack of effective therapy for the treatment of more chronic-severe inflammatory diseases. These diseases are characterized by
the possibility of corneal damage that may lead to a sight-threatening outcome.

Oxidative stress is a persistent imbalance between free radicals and biological anti-oxidant defenses. This imbalance is present in several diseases in which inflammation also plays a key role, including those that affects to the ocular surface. Oxidative stress is characterized by an increase of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS).

This experimental model represents an in vitro model of oxidative stress induced by UV-B light exposure for the study of the implication of corneal and conjunctival epithelium in the development of chronic-severe
inflammatory diseases that may lead to visual loss.

In this model, human corneal and conjunctival cell lines have been exposed to UV-B light. Cell response in terms of intracellular ROS production has been characterized and the effect of different compounds (potential therapies) has been tested.