Glutamate receptor subunits in the rat cornea

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify if topical application of an ionotropic Glutamate receptor (iGluR) antagonist could effectively reduce pain in the cornea and to identify the presence and location of the 16 different iGluR subunits. Furthermore, we assessed the quality of the currently published iGluR literature using the ARRIVE guidelines. We identified DNQX as an effective iGluR antagonist when topically applied to the cornea, we identified the presence of each of the iGluR to the cornea and the trigeminal root ganglion, and we identified the lack of completeness in the currently published iGluR literature. From these results, further investigation of DNQX should be done to identify if it can be used as an effective treatment of corneal pain. Further studies including co-localization of iGluR subunits should be done to identify receptor composition and functionality. Finally, a better reporting of the methods and results of published works should be done to increase translation of results from animal to human.