purpose: to compare keratocyte density in stromal layers of the cornea in keratoconus, post-lasik keratectasia, lasik without keratectasia, and normal corneas by confocal scan. methods: thirty-one unscarred corneas from 22 patients with keratoconus, 24 clear corneas from 17 cases with post-lasik keratectasia, 12 corneas from 7 lasik cases without keratectasia, and 26 corneas from 13 normal subj...

PURPOSE To demonstrate the constitutive expression and regulation of heparanase (heparan sulfate endoglycosidase) in the normal mouse eye and in mice intracorneally infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. METHODS Naïve (unimmunized) and immunized C57BL/6J mice were infected with P. aeruginosa, and corneal heparanase gene and protein expression were detected by semiquantitative RT-PCR and immuno...

Tissue engineering holds great promise for corneal transplantation to treat blinding diseases. This study was to explore the use of natural corneal stroma as an optimal substrate to construct a native like corneal equivalent. Human corneal epithelium was cultivated from donor limbal explants on corneal stromal discs prepared by FDA approved Horizon Epikeratome system. The morphology, phenotype,...

PURPOSE To test whether adherens junction proteins are present in the epithelium and the endothelium of corneal equivalents. METHODS Corneal cell types were harvested from human eyes and grown separately. Stromal equivalents were constructed by seeding fibroblasts into a collagen gel on which epithelial and endothelial cells were added on each side. Alternatively, bovine endothelial cells wer...

According to the concept of keratin pairing defined by tissue coexpression, a 55-kD/64-kD keratin pair is a marker of "corneal-type" differentiation. Intermediate filament (IF)-enriched preparations from guinea pig and bovine corneal epithelium were analyzed, and a rabbit antiserum was generated against a 55-kD polypeptide enriched in these preparations. This antiserum generated a typical IF-li...

PURPOSE To investigate intercellular communication in the corneal epithelium, changes in the concentration of intracellular Ca(2+) ([Ca(2+)](i) ) induced by adenosine-5'-triphosphate (ATP) were analyzed. METHODS Rabbit corneal epithelia were loaded with Ca(2+) indicators and then stimulated by ATP (10 microM). [Ca(2+)](i) changes were monitored by means of conventional fluorescence and real-t...

purpose: to report the confocal scan features in a case with clinical diagnosis of meesmann corneal dystrophy (mcd). case report: a 17-year-old female with recurrent episodes of corneal erosion and a clinical diagnosis of mcd underwent in vivo confocal scanning of both corneas. the confocal scan features included hyporeflective round-shaped areas measuring 6.8 to 41.4 mm within the superficial ...

The aim of our study was to assess the clinical effectiveness of topical adipose derived stem cell (ADSC) treatment in laser induced corneal wounds in mice by comparing epithelial repair, inflammation, and histological analysis between treatment arms. Corneal lesions were performed on both eyes of 40 mice by laser induced photorefractive keratectomy. All eyes were treated with topical azythromy...

Purpose To evaluate corneal transparency following accelerated collagen cross-linking (ACXL) in pediatric keratoconus. Design A prospective interventional case series. Methods This study included 47 eyes (25 patients), aged 9-14 years, with documented progressive keratoconus. After applying 0.1% riboflavin drops, ACXL was performed. Assessment included corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA...