Liposome suppression of proliferative vitreoretinopathy. Rabbit model using antimetabolite encapsulated liposomes.

The effects of the antimetabolites, cytarabine (Ara-C) and 5-fluorouridine 5'-monophosphate (FUMP), encapsulated in multivesicular liposomes on formation of vitreous fibroproliferative membranes in New Zealand white (NZW) rabbits were studied. In pharmacokinetic studies, the drug half-life in the vitreous cavity was 124 hr after intravitreal administration of 1.0 mg of FUMP in liposomes. By contrast, the drug half-life after a single injection in nonliposome-treated controls was only 4.5 hr. In a heterologous dermal fibroblast model of proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR), there was a 92% decrease in frequency of tractional retinal detachments in rabbits receiving a single intravitreal injection of liposome-encapsulated 0.1 mg of FUMP compared with controls receiving liposomes without drug. A dose of 1 mg of Ara-C in liposome-treated rabbits was associated with only a 46% reduction in tractional detachment compared with controls. Multivesicular liposome-encapsulated FUMP may be useful for inhibiting formation of fibroproliferative membranes in the vitreous after vitreoretinal surgery.