Efficacy of anti-inflammatory, antibiotic and pleiotropic agents in reversing nitrogen mustard-induced injury in ex vivo cultured rabbit cornea

Vesicating agent, Sulfur mustard (SM), causes devastating eye injury; however, there are no effective antidotes available. Using nitrogen mustard (NM), a bi-functional analog of SM, we have earlier reported that NM-induced corneal injury in ex vivo rabbit cornea organ culture model parallels corneal injury reported with SM. Using this model, we have demonstrated the therapeutic efficacy of dexamethasone (DEX), doxycycline (DOX) and silibinin (SB) in reversing NM (2 h exposure)-induced corneal injuries when added immediately after washing NM. In the present study, we further examined the efficacy of similar/higher doses of these agents when added immediately, 2, or 4 h after washing NM following its 2 h exposure. All three treatment agents caused a reversal in established NM-induced injury biomarkers when added immediately or 2 h after washing NM following its 2 h exposure; however, when treatments were carried out 4 h after washing NM, there was no significant effect. Together, our results further show the beneficial effect of these agents in reversing NM-induced corneal injury and indicate the time window for effective treatment. This could be useful towards future development of targeted therapeutics against vesicant-induced ocular injury.