Effect of Dexamethasone and Diclofenac on the Proliferation of Human Corneal Keratocytes

Purpose: To evaluate the inhibitory effect of dexamethasone and diclofenac on the proliferation of cultured human keratocytes, and to investigate the apoptotic response and the cellular morphologic changes associated with dexamethasone and diclofenac in vitro. Methods: Human corneal keratocytes were exposed to 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4, 0.8, 1.6, and 3.2 mM concentration of dexamethasone and diclofenac for 4, 24, and 48 hours. MTT based calorimetric assay, flow cytometric analysis, fluorescent micrograph, inverted phase-contrast micrograph, and electron microscopy were used to evaluate the results. Results: The inhibitory effect of human keratocyte proliferation increased at higher concentrations and longer exposure times of dexamethasone and diclofenac (p