Abstract

Our previous experiments have revealed that a non-peptide organic ligand of CD4 D1-J2 as a potential inhibitor of CD4 D1 can inhibit corneal allograft injection and prolong the corneal allograft survival. The present study aimed to further investigate molecular biological effects of J2 treatment on allografts following corneal transplantation in mice. Allogeneic orthotopic penetrating keratoplasty was performed using C57BL/6 mice as donors and BALB/c mice as recipients. Allograft recipient mice were randomly divided into J2-treated group, CsA-treated group (positive control) and DMSO treatment group (negative control). After treatment for consecutive 12 days, T cell phenotype analysis, CD4, CD8 immunohistochemical staining, T-cell proliferation and mRNA expression analysis of cytokines were performed. The subsequent molecular biological assays revealed that the immunosuppressive activity of J2 was associated with its inhibitory effects on the CD4⁺ T cells and cells-mediated responses. J2 is as effective as CsA in prevention of allograft rejection following corneal transplantation. 

Key words: CD4⁺ T cells, immunosuppressive agent, CD4 D1 inhibitor, CsA, corneal transplantation.