Objective      To determine the effects of CD25siRNA transfection in corneal graft on the transplantation rejection in rats undergoing penetrating keratoplasty

and on the expression of IL-10 and FOXP3 in the graft.       Methods       Fifty μL Entranster

TM

-control CD25siRNA and 50  μL Entranster

TM

-CD25siRNA were formulated as nanoparticle transfection reagents

and 50  μL normal salin

e was defined as control. Orthotopic corneal transplantation was performed only on the right eyes of Wistar SD rats. Corneal recipients were divided into the control group

Entranster

TM

-control CD25siRNA group and Entranster

TM

-CD25siRNA group

with 28 rats in each group. After surgery

the recipient eyes were examined daily for 21 d

and HE staining

immunohistochemistry

Western blotting and qRT-PCR were performed on  3

7

14 and 21 d postoperatively.       Results       The survival curves indicated that CD25siRNA treatment could significantly prolong graft survival time compared to the other 2 groups (P0.05). HE staining showed that CD25siRNA treatment could alleviate infiltration of inflammation cells and reduce neovascularization. Meanwhile

lower CD25 expression and higher IL-10 expression were detected in the Entranster

TM

-CD25siRNA group compared with the other 2 groups (P0.05)

and FOXP3 expression exhibited no significantly difference among the groups (P0.05).       Conclusion       CD25siRNA transfection  significantly prolongs the median survival time of corneal allografts and increases the graft survival rate via up-regulating anti-inflammatory molecule IL-10 and inhibiting tissue inflammatory response.