Cytologic evaluation of conjunctival epithelium after cataract surgery

Effects of Carteolol Hydrochloride on theIn VitroProduction of LPS-Induced Proinflammatory Cytokines by Murine Macrophage

We investigated whether carteolol hydrochloride, which has intrinsic sympathomimetic activity (ISA), inhibits the production of proinflammatory cytokines using mouse macrophages (MPs) and peripheral-blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). MPs and PBMCs were collected from BALB/C strain mice, treated simultaneously with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and test agents (carteolol hydrochloride, timolol maleate, betaxolol hydrochloride, levobunolol hydrochloride, or nipradilol) in medium, and incubated in a CO2 incubator. TNF-alpha and IL-6 in medium were measured by ELISA. Carteolol hydrochloride significantly inhibited the production of TNF-alpha and IL-6 by MPs at 10(-5) M and higher (p < 0.01) or PBMCs at 10(-6) M and higher (p < 0.01) compared to the controls, while the other test agents had no inhibitory effect. Carteolol hydrochloride inhibited the production of proinflammatory cytokines by inflammatory cells, raising the possibility that this intraocular hypotensive drug may be expected to have anti-inflammatory effects in patients with increased intraocular tension and postoperative inflammation.

Evaluation of human conjunctival epithelium by a combination of brush cytology and flow cytometry: an approach to the quantitative technique

Cytology using the brush technique is readily available and is a rapid means of establishing a presumptive diagnosis of ocular surface changes. However, those techniques have some limitations when obtaining cells from certain localized areas particularly if using the Cytobrush-S. We have described here a new type of brush (Accellon-M), which can collect the local cells using its spherical tip, and evaluated them by comparing with Cytobrush-S. Furthermore, we differentiated epithelial cells from nonepithelial cells that were collected by brushing, and by a combination of brush cytology and flow cytometry using an anti-keratin antibody, AE-3, which reacts with all basic epithelial keratins. Accellon-M could collect the epithelial cells from conjunctiva as effectively as with the Cytobrush-S, and there were no statistical differences between both groups. AE-3, which is reported as the marker of epithelial cells, were detected quantitatively by a combination of brush cytology and flow cytometry techniques. The result of the present study emphasizes that both the Cytobrush-S and the Accellon-M are valuable for conjunctival brush cytology. An additional positive feature of the Accellon-M may be improved cell collection from the conjunctival epithelium especially when the target cells are in a limited area. The combination of the brush cytology and the flow cytometry technique appears to be a useful adjunct as an additional diagnostic or research tool for use in the detection of various antigens in the conjunctival epithelium.

Brush technique in ocular surface cytology

New techniques are being searched for the evaluation of cellular morphology and population of ocular surface. Impression cytology is one of the most preferred techniques in ocular surface sampling in dry eye, keratitis, and conjunctivitis. We evaluated and compared the efficacy of impression and brush cytology in 63 patients. All of the samples collected by the brush technique were sufficient for diagnosis: 88% of the slides revealed abundant cells and 12% adequate number of cells. In 21% of the samples observed by impression cytology the cell number was inadequate for diagnosis. In 58% of them the cells were abundant and in 21% few cells were observed. This study proved the value of brush cytology in collecting ocular surface cells.