Fibronectin in alkali burns of the rabbit cornea.

Alkali burns of the cornea were made bilaterally in 16 albino rabbits. The eyes were then treated four times a day in a masked fashion with a solution either of fibronectin (250 micrograms/ml) plus gentamicin (1.5 mg/ml) or of gentamicin (1.5 mg/ml) plus hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (Tears Naturale). The eyes were examined daily in a masked manner for evidence of a corneal epithelial defect. On days 6-14, the fibronectin-treated eyes had more healed corneal defects (p less than 0.05, McNemar's test for matched pairs) than the control eyes. Fibronectin aided the healing of corneal alkali burns by decreasing the peeling back of the healing epithelium and by allowing re-epithelialization if peeling back had occurred. These properties of fibronectin helped to preserve a stable, intact corneal surface.