Tear plasminogen activators--indicators of epithelial cell destruction. The effect of scraping, n-heptanol debridement, and alkali burn of the cornea on the plasminogen activator activity of rabbit tears.

Plasminogen activator (uPA) activities were determined in the tears of rabbits following mechanical (scraping) or chemical (n-heptanol) debridement and alkali burn of the central part of the corneal epithelium. All three types of injury enhanced the plasminogen activator activities in the tears. The increase in uPA activity was highest in alkali burn, lowest for n-heptanol debridement. Scraping yielded an intermediate increase in uPA activity. The maximum value in activator activity was reached at 5 hours for mechanical injury and at 24 hours for chemical injuries. uPA activity values returned to the normal range by the time of re-epithelialization for mechanical scraping and 1-3 days following re-epithelialization for heptanol debridement and alkali burn. A trend was observed between uPA activity level and the size of the wound but the correlation was not pronounced (R = 0.538).