Contribution of secreted proteases to the pathogenesis of postoperative Enterococcus faecalis endophthalmitis

Abstract

An extracellular protease plays a major role in the pathogenesis of E faecalis-induced postoperative endophthalmitis.

Moxifloxacin as Postoperative Prophylaxis forEnterococcus faecalis-Induced Endophthalmitis After Cataract Surgery in Aphakic Rabbits

“…8 Briefly, lensectomy was performed on the rabbit's left eye by phacoemulsification (Black Max, Advanced Medical Optics, Santa Ana, CA). After lensectomy, the corneal incision was closed with 10-0 nylon sutures to prevent any leakage.…”

“…8 Acute and permanent damage was assessed at each of these times. Retinal function was determined as the b-wave amplitude for the experimental eye, expressed as a percentage of that in the contralateral control eye.…”

“…8 Retinal damage was examined by light microscopy (BX50; Olympus, Tokyo, Japan). Each eye was checked to confirm whether the 5 retinal layers were intact.…”

“…8 The model is established by inoculating pathogens into the lens capsule and anterior chamber after lensectomy. In this model, E. faecalis shows a high growth rate in the eye (1 · 10 9 colony forming unit [CFU]/mL within 3-7 h).…”

“…[17][18][19] We recently demonstrated that proteases secreted from E. faecalis, such as gelatinase and serine protease, play important roles in the development of endophthalmitis in aphakic eyes after cataract surgery. 8 These proteases seem to promote the spread of organisms by penetrating the posterior lens capsule, allowing the bacteria to migrate from the anterior chamber to the posterior chamber. This migration is a key event in the progression of postoperative endophthalmitis and the consequent severe retinal damage.…”