Changes of RANTES and MCPª²1 expression in epithelium of corneal limbus after limbal transplantation in rats

    YANG Songª²Lin, YAN Xiaoª²Ming

    Department of Ophthalmology, First Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, 100034, China

    ¡¾Abstract¡¿ AIM: To investigate dynamic expressions of RANTES and MCPª²1 in the epithelium of corneal limbus after limbal transplant and their relationship with rejections. METHODS: Two groups of rats [allograft group (AG group) and syngenicª²graft group (SG group)] underwent limbal transplantation and healthy rats were taken as normal controls. The expression of RANTES and MCPª²1 mRNA was detected by quantitative competitive RTª²PCR at postª²operative days (POD) 1, 3, 7, 11, 14, 21 and 30 and rejections were observed. RESULTS: Rejections appeared on POD5 and reached the peak on POD 8 to 10. The expression of RANTES and MCPª²1 mRNA after transplantation was greatly enhanced compared with that in the normal control group (P<0.05). RANTES reached peak on POD 7 and MCPª²1 on POD 11 and then descended constantly. The expression of RANTES and MCPª²1 mRNA was not different on POD 1 to 4 between AG group and SG group (P>0.05) but on POD 7 to POD 30 there were significant differences between the two groups (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Detection of the expression of RANTES and MCPª²1 mRNA may be helpful to the diagnosis of rejections and the prognosis. ......