Аннотация:Keratouveitis is an inflammatory condition of the eyes characterized by keratitis and anterior uveitis. Also, keratouveitis refers to a clinical picture of active corneal disease associated with anterior chamber inflammation. We have developed an experimental model of UV-induced keratouveitis, which can allow us to study the therapeutic effectiveness of drugs for the treatment of this pathology. Because the inflammation diseases are triggering by proinflammatory cytokines production through promoting the production of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species, in this work, the feasibility of mitochondria-targeted antioxidant SkQ1 based therapy for enhancement of keratouveitis prevention after UV irradiation was investigated in vivo.It was demonstrated that 312 nm light irradiation of the eyes triggers the development of corneal lesions and anterior inflammation in rabbits. In particular, loss of epithelium, stromal edema and apoptosis of keratocytes and endothelium cells were observed. It was emphasized that multiple apoptosis of stromal keratocytes can be associated with UV-induced oxidative stress, which manifested in tears, aqueous humor and cornea as elevation of MDA content. The feasibility of SkQ1 based antioxidant premedication therapy for protection against UV irradiation-induced keratouveitis was demonstrated. The therapy prevents the loss of stromal keratocytes, other corneal cells and decrease level of inflammation in the anterior. According to biochemical studies, the instillations of SkQ1 also suppresses oxidative stress in tears, aqueous humor and cornea. In conclusion, our data suggest that the mitochondria-targeted antioxidant SkQ1 is effective for protection against UV-induced keratouveitis.Acknowledgments: This study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (Project no. 16-15-00255).