Pathological Features And Mechanisms In Corneal Bee Sting

Purpose:To develop a stable mouse model of corneal bee sting for investigating the pathological features and mechanisms in the bee sting-induced corneal injuries.Methods:Bee venom(BV)solution were prepared by dissolving the bee venom powder in the phosphate buffer saline(PBS),BV were injected into the corneal stroma of the healthy C57BL/6 mice using a micro-syringe to establish the corneal bee sting model.Clinical examinations like slit lamp microscopy,optic coherence tomography,etc.were performed to verify the corneal bee sting model.After verified,laboratory assay like crystal section Hematoxylin and eosin staining and TUNEL assay to observe the morphological changes and apoptosis in each layer of the cornea,whole-mount F-actin,DAPI staining were performed at different 24h and 72h after the intrastromal injection to observe the stromal and endothelial changes.Results:Slit lamp examination and optic coherence tomography scan showed corneal opacity,corneal thickening,mydriasis,and epithelial defects in the mice models.The speckle distribution analysis showed corneal inflammatory cell infiltration or fibrosis,anterior chamber inflammatory exudation or fibrinous exudation.The whole-mount F-actin staining revealed corneal endothelial cell damage,decreased density,cell skeletal disorder and stroma thickening,and inflammatory cell infiltration in the developed mice model.The histological changes observed were time and concentration dependent.TUNEL assay showed that the apoptosis appeared in the macrophages as well as in the stromal cells.Conclusion:Our study successfully established a stable and reliable corneal bee sting model for the first time.The toxic composition of bee venom could directly damage the corneal stroma,the allergic composition of bee venom could enhance the permeability between layers of the cornea,accelerating the spread of bee venom to the corneal epithelium and endothelium,which could further cause severe damage to the entire cornea and inflammatory cell infiltration.Our research can help in understanding its pathogenesis and the course of treatment.