Comparison of the Anti-Inflammatory and Cytotoxic Potential of Different Corticosteroid Eye Drop Preparations

Purpose: To compare the immunosuppressive and cytotoxic effects of three anti-inflammatory eye drops formulations containing betamethasone plus chloramphenicol (B+C), dexamethasone plus netilmicin (D+N) or dexamethasone plus tobramycin (D+T).Methods: The eye drops formulations have been tested at different dilutions on cytokine synthesis by mouse or human cultured macrophages, as well as proliferation and viability of cultured human corneal cells (HCE).Results: B+C reduced IL6 and TNFα production by cultured mouse or human macrophages more potently than D+N and D+T, with the tree formulations having the same impact on IL-10 expression. We also found that the eye drops preparations reduced proliferation of HCE cells, with D+T showing the higher anti-proliferative potency and B+C showing the lower cytotoxic potential.Conclusion: Our study points out that it may be erroneous to consider routinely-used anti-inflammatory eye drops preparations with analogous formulations as readily interchangeable and of similar potency and tolerability.