Cytokine and chemokine levels in tears and in corneal fibroblast cultures before and after excimer laser treatment

Purpose To measure multiple cytokine and chemokine production in tears of myopic patients before and after laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) and in human corneal fibroblast (HCF) cultures before and after excimer laser treatment. Setting Department of Neuroscience, Ophthalmology Unit, University of Padua, Italy and Vissum-Instituto de Oftalmologico de Alicante, Alicante, Spain Methods Tear samples were obtained from 15 myopic patients before LASIK and 1 and 24 hours after LASIK. Quiescent HCF cultures were treated using the same laser energy. Culture medium was collected before treatment and after 1 and 24 hours. Cytokine concentrations were determined using multiplexed bead analysis. Results Compared with baseline values, interleukin (IL)-12 tear levels were significantly increased 1 hour after surgery and eotaxin levels were significantly increased at 24 hours (both P Conclusions In vivo and in vitro studies showed that after excimer laser treatment, cytokines are released to modulate the wound-healing process; however, they can potentially induce inflammation. However, these types of in vitro studies, although useful for evaluating changes in cytokine profiles before and after treatment, only partially reproduce in vivo corneal behavior.