Biphasic Ocular Inflammatory Response to Endotoxin-Induced Uveitis in the Mouse

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Abstract
ENDOTOXIN-INDUCED uveitis (EIU) in the rat and mouse are useful animal models for human anterior uveitis.1-6 Administration of a sublethal dose of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) results in an acute ocular inflammatory response in both species that is characterized by percolation of protein into the anterior chamber of the eye and infiltration of large numbers of macrophages and neutrophils. As defined by the number of these infiltrating inflammatory cells, ocular inflammation in rats with EIU is monophasic. Their response peaks 24 hours after injection with LPS and subsides within the following 48 hours. Iridocyclitis with infiltration of macrophages, polymorphonuclear cells, and lymphocytes characterize the response. A monophasic response has also been reported5,6 in mice, but these studies did not follow the time course of mouse EIU beyond 72 hours after LPS injection. In contrast to the rat, studies6 show that the mouse with EIU tends to develop prominent posterior vitritis instead of iridocyclitis. In addition, the overall severity of ocular inflammation is lower in mice than in rats.