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Journal of Medical Microbiology logo Journal of Medical Microbiology

Volume 73, Issue 12

Exploring interspecies differences in models of keratitis: a comparative study of human, pig and sheep corneas Open Access

Abstract

Interspecies differences in human, pig and sheep corneal thickness may affect the colonization. Currently, there is no research investigating the impact of these differences, along with variable storage and culture conditions on infection in cornea models. These factors could significantly influence utilizing models for drug testing research.

In this study, we aim to compare the relevance of sheep and pig cornea infection models to human.

The corneas were stored in McCarey-Kaufman medium or Eagle’s Minimum Essential Medium or Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle’s Medium/Mixture F-12 Ham medium (incubator) and then infected after varying storage durations. The effect of added foetal bovine serum (FBS) to media and continuous shaking mimicking rinsing with tears on infection was also investigated. The infection outcome was evaluated by comparing c.f.u. between conditions.

The study found that storage conditions, culture media, FBS and continuous rinsing of corneas with media had no significant effect on infection progression in keratitis models across selected species.

Pig and sheep models yield results comparable to human corneas. These findings support the interchangeability of human, pig and sheep keratitis models for infection studies, emphasizing their relevance and reliability in research contexts. This interchangeability is particularly useful for research groups where one particular animal model may not be available. The media in this keratitis model can be free of animal components by the removal of FBS, which reduces the reliance on animal-derived products, aligning with ethical considerations and promoting more sustainable and humane scientific practices. This study advances the understanding of keratitis models, demonstrating their robustness and potential for broader application in ophthalmic research and drug testing.

  • Received:
  • Accepted:
  • Published Online:
Keyword(s): ex vivo human cornea , ex vivo pig cornea , ex vivo sheep cornea , keratitis and P. aeruginosa
Funding
This study was supported by the:
  • Animal Free Research UK (Award AFR21-PILOT-134)
    • Principal Award Recipient: EstherKarunakaran
  • Medical Research Council (Award MR/S004688/1)
    • Principal Award Recipient: PeterN. Monk
© 2024 The Authors
  • This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. This article was made open access via a Publish and Read agreement between the Microbiology Society and the corresponding author’s institution.
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2024-12-13
2025-11-12

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Exploring interspecies differences in ex vivo models of Pseudomonas aeruginosa keratitis: a comparative study of human, pig and sheep corneas
J. Med. Microbiol. 73, 001901 (2024); https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.001901
/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/jmm.0.001901
/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/jmm.0.001901
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