The dynamics of the inflammatory response and the mechanism involved in the healing process of cornea treated by keratoplasty, applying fresh and glycerin preserved xenogenous amniotic membranes as method to cover experimental ulcers were studied using 40 rabbits. The animals were allotted into two groups and evaluated during 21 days. The eyes were evaluated by histopathological study and immunohistochemical reaction. The clinical evaluation showed that the xenogenous amniotic membrane preserved in glycerin stimulated a greater acute inflammatory response than the one caused by fresh membrane. The histopathological analysis indicated that both membranes reacted in a very similar way from the first week post-surgery, presenting the classical alterations of the inflammatory response on the cornea. The immunohistochemical technique indicated that in no moment of the observation, the local immunologic response was specific. It was concluded that the specific immunologic response on the cornea took place later and that is a privileged site to use grafts with different immunological characteristics, once there was not a stimulus to the development of a more specific response in none of the evaluated groups throughout the experiment.
rabbit; cornea; amniotic membrane; keratoplasty
