The ocular surface is comprised of the cornea and conjunctiva, which are structures that not only protect the eye but also enable vision. The corneal epithelium is the most superficial layer of the cornea, and therefore first line of defense against external assaults. Damage to this highly specialized structure could lead to vision loss, making it an important structure to investigate and under...

Certain components of a graft that provoke alloimmunity may not be vital for graft function or critical as targets of rejection. Corneal transplantation is an example of this, because graft epithelium plays a role in allosensitization, whereas corneal graft endothelium-which shares the same alloantigens-is the critical target in allorejection. In this study, we found that exploiting this biolog...

PURPOSE To study the short-term clinical results of transplanting of cultivated corneal/limbal epithelial cells on human amniotic membrane (AM) for limbal deficiency. DESIGN Noncomparative, retrospective interventional case series. PARTICIPANTS Thirteen eyes of 13 patients with severe limbal deficiency (Stevens-Johnson syndrome in eight eyes, ocular cicatricial pemphigoid in three eyes, and...

Background. Epithelial dysplasia is categorized as conjunctival/corneal intraepithelial neoplasia which is a precancerous lesion. The lesion is usually developed at the limbal region and grows towards central cornea in association with neovascularization into the lesion. Here, we report a case of isolated nonvascularized corneal epithelial dysplasia surrounded by normal corneal epithelium with ...

We investigated the influence of alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) on the healing of corneal epithelial lesions in male Wistar rats. The lesions were induced by abrading corneal epithelium with a surgical lancet under a biomicroscope. Before the abrasion corneal epithelium was softened with 40% ethanol. alpha-MSH drops in a concentration of 1 x 10(-4) mg/mL significantly promoted...

We report a case of corneal deposition of pigments from cosmetic contact lenses after intense pulsed-light (IPL) therapy. A 30-year-old female visited our outpatient clinic with ocular pain and epiphora in both eyes; these symptoms developed soon after she had undergone facial IPL treatment. She was wearing cosmetic contact lenses throughout the IPL procedure. At presentation, her uncorrected v...

PURPOSE To isolate dendritic cells (DC) from rat corneas and to examine their functions and surface markers in vitro. METHODS Cells were isolated enzymatically from dissected rat corneas and cultured for various intervals of time. Dendritic cells were enriched immunomagnetically from corneal cell preparations using monoclonal antibodies against DC surface antigens and tested for functional ac...

PURPOSE To establish a rat model of neurotrophic keratopathy and to examine the effects of the combination of substance P (SP) and insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 on corneal epithelial barrier function and wound healing in this model. METHODS Corneal denervation was achieved by thermocoagulation of the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve. A modified Schirmer test was performed withou...

PURPOSE To evaluate the importance of complete epithelial removal before riboflavin-ultraviolet-A (UVA) corneal collagen crosslinking therapy. SETTING School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Wales, United Kingdom. METHODS Riboflavin eyedrops were applied at 5-minute intervals for 35 minutes to the anterior corneal surface of 36 porcine eyes (12 with no epithelial trauma...

tides are seen in the in vivo experiment than in the in vitro one suggests that synthesis of polyglucose is regulated in the cell even under in vivo histochemical conditions. Another use of the enzyme-synthetic approach in the in vivo cornea has been shown in the present study. The number of synthesized polyglucose particles in the corneal epithelium indicates the amount of glucose-1-phosphate ...