Gaseous nitric oxide for the local treatment of bacterial keratitis in mice.

The successful treatment of severe bacterial keratitis continues to be a challenge in animals and humans. In the present study the aim was to assess gaseous therapy using gaseous nitric oxide (gNO) in a murine model of Pseudomonas aeruginosa keratitis. The cornea of anesthetized mice was mechanically scratched and covered with a bacterial suspension of P. aeruginosa. One day later, the infected eyes were exposed to 200 ppm NO for 30 min. Three to seven days later the mice were sacrificed and the bulbi were obtained and processed for light microscopy. The read out parameter was the maximal corneal thickness and the severity of the hypopyon. The therapy with NO did not result in either a reduction of inflammation concerning the maximal corneal thickness or the severity of the hypopyon. The bacterial load was not investigated due to technical limitations. Thus, exposure to gNO did not reduce the local inflammation in P. aeruginosa induced murine keratitis at the investigated time-points. This does not exclude effects of NO on the bacterial load, and in experimental and human keratitis.