The cornea is the transparent outermost surface of the eye, consisting of a stratified epithelium, a collagenous stroma and an innermost single-cell layered endothelium and providing 2/3 of the refractive power of the eye. Multiple diseases of the cornea arise from genetic defects where the ultimate phenotype can be influenced by cross talk between the cell types and the extracellular matrix. C...

Introduction ALTHOUGH the cornea normally has no blood vessels, yet, under certain conditions, new vessels freely enter the substa-nce of the cornea from the limbal plexus. To explain this invasion many theories have been advanced. In riboflavin deficiency there is corneal vascularization. Since riboflavin is part of an oxidation enzyme system, Bessey and Wolbach (1939), and Johnson and Eckardt...

The cornea is a transparent tissue in front of the eye that refracts light and facilitates vision. A slight change in the geometry of the cornea remarkably affects the optical power. Because of this sensitivity, biomechanical study of the cornea can reveal much about its performance and function. In vivo and in vitro studies have been conducted to investigate the mechanics of the cornea and det...

The cornea is the anterior most surface of the eye and plays a critical role in vision. A thin fluid layer, the tear film, coats the outer surface of the cornea and serves to protect, nourish, and lubricate the cornea. At the same time, the tear film is responsible for creating a smooth continuous surface, where the majority of refraction takes place in the eye. A significant component of visio...

Increased angiogenesis, inflammation, and proliferation are hallmarks of diseased tissues, and in vivo models of these disease phenotypes can provide insight into disease pathology. Dstn(corn1) mice, deficient for the actin depolymerizing factor destrin (DSTN), display an increase of serum response factor (SRF) that results in epithelial hyperproliferation, inflammation, and neovascularization ...

The present investigation was undertak en to obtain some knowledge about the submicroscopic structure of the cornea based on thermoelastic properties and polarization characteristics. Previous workers b have reported that the cornea exhibits a birefringence of uniaxial type. But as their observations were made in parallel polarized light only, it is desirable to make conoscopic observation as w...

PURPOSE To quantify the orientation of the collagen fibrils in the human limbus and to compare it with the orientation in the cornea and the sclera. METHODS Fibril orientation was measured from 100 synchrotron x-ray diffraction patterns collected at intervals along lines across the cornea, limbus, and sclera. RESULTS A distinct circumcorneal annulus of collagen fibrils was revealed in the l...

PURPOSE To examine if sonic hedgehog (Shh) is involved in tissue neovascularization by using cell culture and an animal cornea. METHODS The effects of exogenous Shh (5.0 nM), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and/or a Shh signal inhibitor (2.5 or 10.0 muM cyclopamine) on vessel-like tube formation of vascular endothelial cells were examined in vitro. The effects of Shh on the express...

The peripheral sensory nerves that innervate the cornea can be easily damaged by trauma, surgery, infection or diabetes. Several growth factors and axon guidance molecules, such as Semaphorin3A (Sema3A) are upregulated upon cornea injury. Nerves can regenerate after injury but do not recover their original density and patterning. Sema3A is a well known axon guidance and growth cone repellent pr...

No author has a financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned. Abstract Aim: To study the distribution and predominant orientations of Type 1 collage n at different depths throughout the entire thickness of the human cornea. This information will form the basis of a full three-dimensional reconstruction of corneal lamellae prefe rred orientations. Methods: Femtosecond la...