Abstract: Objective To establish a murine model of corneal aspergillosis and investigate the formation condition and pathogenic mechanism of corneal aspergillosis.Methods Murine model of corneal aspergillosis was set up by corneal scarification and intrastromal injection.Morphological observation,histopathological study and fungal examinations(light microscope and culture) were performed afterwards.Results The infection rate was 100% in immunocompetent mice by introstromal injection method.Mild changes which could be self-recovered were observed on the infected corneas,whereas moderate to severe keratomycosis developed in cyclophosphamide-treated mice with the same inoculation.Conclusions The infection rate of Aspergillus fumigatus to murine corneal is related to the damage level of corneal and the amount of spores adhered.Immudeficiency may cause corneal aspergillosis and make the lesion more serious.

Key words: keratitis, Aspergillus fumigatus, a mouse model