PURPOSE To characterize dendritic cells (DC) in normal human corneal epithelium. METHODS Normal human donor corneal epithelium was examined by fluorescence microscopy with single and double staining for multiple markers. Morphologic studies were also performed by confocal microscopy. HLA-DRa, CD1c, and CD16 mRNA expression in the corneal epithelium was examined by RT-PCR. CD45+ cells were sep...

Preservatives are a major component of the ophthalmic preparations in multi-dose bottles. The purpose of this study was to investigate the acute effect of benzalkonium chloride (BAC), a common preservative used in ophthalmic preparations, on the localization and expression of zonula occludens (ZO)-1 in the rabbit corneal epithelium in vivo. BAC at 0.005%, 0.01%, or 0.02% was topically applied t...

The mitotic rate and goblet cell content of conjunctival epithelium following total or central corneal epithelial removal using n-heptanol was measured to determine how the conjunctival epithelium responds to injury and whether conjuctiva responds to central corneal epithelial loss. One day following a wound that removed corneal, limbal, and 1-2 mm of bulbar conjunctival epithelium, the mitotic...

PURPOSE Hypoxia impairs the barrier function of the corneal epithelium. This function depends on tight junctions, of which zonula occludens (ZO)-1 is a major component. The authors have investigated the effects of hypoxia on ZO-1 localization and expression in the rabbit corneal epithelium in vivo. METHODS A polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) or rigid gas-permeable (RGP) lens was applied to one ey...

Corneal epithelium is traditionally thought to be a self-sufficient, self-renewing tissue implying that its stem cells are located in its basal cell layer. Recent studies indicate however that corneal epithelial stem cells reside in the basal layer of peripheral cornea in the limbal zone, and that corneal and conjunctival epithelia represent distinct cell lineages. These ideas are supported by ...

Secretory component (SC) was studied by indirect immunofluorescence of the ocular surface epithelium. We find that conjunctival epithelium produces this component, and that it is absent in the corneal epithelium. Conjunctival epithelium loses its SC staining within 1 to 2 days as it grows over a denuded corneal stroma. This implies a very rapid turn-off of the SC gene and rapid export of the ge...

PURPOSE To investigate the effect of the peptide NC-1059 on riboflavin (RF) diffusion across an intact corneal epithelium into the stroma. METHODS NC-1059 peptide was synthesized by solid-phase synthesis with 9-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl chemistry, characterized by reversed-phase HPLC, and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectroscopy. The diffusion of RF across e...

PURPOSE Selection of an appropriate animal model is crucial for the investigation of the pathogenesis of Acanthamoeba keratitis. To this end, it has been reported that fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled Acanthamoeba castellanii bind to human, pig, and hamster corneas, but not to rabbit corneas in organ culture. However, 35S-labeled A. polyphaga and A. culbertsoni have been found to bind ...

Several aspects of the ocular surface epithelium, including its clinical appearance, its effect on the strength of underlying stromal wounds, and its healing rates, have been compared between regenerating epithelium of conjunctival and that of corneal origin in rabbits. The results showed that conjunctival epithelium could not transform completely into functionally competent corneal epithelium ...

PURPOSE To identify the role of Notch signaling in the human corneal epithelium. METHODS Localization of Notch1, Notch2, Delta1, and Jagged1 in the human corneal epithelium was observed with the use of indirect immunofluorescence microscopy. Gene and protein expression of Notch receptors and ligands in human corneal epithelial cells was determined by RT-PCR and Western blot analysis, respecti...