# A novel scoring system tailored for rabbit models of endotoxin-induced uveitis: feasible, sensitive, and reproducible

## TL;DR

This study creates a new, accurate scoring system for measuring uveitis in rabbits, improving drug testing and disease research.

## Contribution

A novel, rabbit-specific clinical scoring system for endotoxin-induced uveitis is developed and validated.

## Key findings

- The rabbit-specific scoring system showed strong interobserver agreement (kappa 0.796).
- The system effectively detected therapeutic effects of triamcinolone acetonide in rabbit EIU models.
- The rabbit system was more sensitive than rat-derived systems in assessing inflammation levels.

## Abstract

Uveitis is an inflammatory ocular disease that can lead to vision impairment. Endotoxin-induced uveitis (EIU) models are commonly used in animal studies to investigate acute uveitis for drug screening and understanding disease mechanisms. However, most clinical scoring systems for EIU were developed for rat models. Applying these rat-derived criteria to rabbit EIU models may introduce inaccuracies due to interspecies differences between rabbit and rat eyes, potentially affecting the precision of inflammation assessment. Therefore, the aim of this study is to establish a novel clinical scoring system for rabbit EIU models.

In this study, a novel quantitative scoring system based on anterior chamber photography, using iris hyperemia, anterior chamber exudates, and hypopyon as key indicators, was established based on the clinical manifestations of EIU in rabbits.

Utilizing triamcinolone acetonide (TA) as a model drug, the treatment groups showed significantly lower scores in rabbit EIU compared to control groups at different stages. This novel scoring system effectively reflected the therapeutic efficacy of varying TA concentrations. In contrast, the classical rat-derived scoring system was less sensitive in distinguishing disease activity at different levels of immunosuppression. The interobserver consistency was strong with a kappa value of 0.796.

This novel EIU scoring system, tailored specifically for rabbits, demonstrates excellent feasibility, sensitivity, and reproducibility.