Indomethacin and the corneal immune response.

To study the effect of treating rabbits with a locally administered noncorticosteroid anti-inflammatory drug, we gave 26 rabbits unilateral subconjunctival injections of 15 mg of indomethacin suspension daily for 16 days, starting one day before the intracorneal injection of the same eye with bovine gamma globulin. We graded the eyes clinically and killed groups of rabbits on postimmunization days 6, 9, 12, and 15. We determined the number of antibody-forming cells in the homolateral cervical lymph nodes, corneas, and uveal tracts and tested the sera, aqueous humor, and vitreous humor for antibodies. Indomethacin-treated eyes showed significantly less inflammatory response, and an insignificantly greater number of antibody-forming cells, than the controls.