PURPOSE To reconstruct a human hemicornea in vitro by means of limbal stem cells cultured onto human keratoplasty lenticules (HKLs) and to obtain a natural corneal graft for clinical applications. METHODS Limbal stem cells were seeded onto HKLs with or without the presence of feeder layers of lethally irradiated 3T3-J2 cells and compared with the current "gold standard" scaffold, i.e., the fi...

PURPOSE Amniotic membrane (AM) transplantation facilitates rapid epithelialization in severe neurotrophic corneal ulcers. To elucidate its action mechanism, we investigated the expression of ligands and receptors of the neurotrophin family by human limbal epithelial (HLE) cells expanded on AM cultures. METHODS Expression of nerve growth factor (NGF); neurotrophins (NT)3 and NT4; brain-derived...

Human cornea is a highly organized transparent tissue and is well determined by its functional layers as shown in (Figure 1). The posterior layer of the cornea is the endothelium which is a physiologically important monolayer of cells. Human Corneal Endothelium (CE) plays a major role in maintaining the corneal transparency, thickness and hydration [1,2]. As CE dysfunction is the second leading...

Corneal ulcer, which is brought on by a breach in the epithelial barrier, dangerous infection of avascular corneal stroma. New treatment strategies are needed, suppressing aggressive nature disease and including combination different drugs. In this study, vancomycin (VAN) fluconazole (FLU) dual-drug loaded dual-layered polyvinyl alcohol gelatin (PVA/GEL) nanofibrous patches produced electrospin...

Background: The effect of corticosteroid therapy on corneal wound healing is controversial. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of combination therapy with dexametha-sone and acetylcysteine at different times and durations on experimentally-induced corneal wounds and haze in rabbits. Methods: Eighteen adult New Zealand white rabbits were divided into three groups of ...

Dynamic changes of rat corneal epithelium and stroma after alkali burning were observed with the electron microscope. The neovascularization process in the stroma was almost the same as that observed after burning by heat. Reversible changes of the epithelial cells occurred throughout the course of wound healing. Approximately 10 days after burning, cells in deeper layers of the epithelium show...

CASE REPORT A newborn male with right proptosis secondary to a retroocular mass. Ophthalmological examination also showed corneal ulcer and perforation, iris hernia, total ophthalmoplegia, chemosis and eyelid retraction. The histopathology diagnosis was mature teratoma. DISCUSSION Teratomas are tumors composed of a mixture of mature tissues consisting of 3 germ layers. Congenital teratomas of...

PURPOSE Expression of the K3-K12 keratin pair characterizes the corneal epithelial differentiation. To elucidate the role of keratin 12 in the maintenance of corneal epithelium integrity, the authors bred mice deficient in keratin 12 by gene-targeting techniques. METHODS One allele of murine Krt1.12 gene was ablated in the embryonic stem cell line, E14.1, by homologous recombination with a DN...

Collagen VIII is localized in subendothelial and subepithelial extracellular matrices. It is a major component of Descemet's membrane, a thick basement membrane under the corneal endothelium, where it forms a hexagonal lattice structure; a similar structure, albeit less extensive, may be formed in other basement membranes. We have examined the function of collagen VIII in mice by targeted inact...

A summary of the fine structure of presumably normal cornea is presented and is augmented by details not previously published. Certain differences noted between epithelial and endothelial cells are discussed, in view of their possible bearing on the function of these layers. Corneal tissue obtained from patients afflicted loith keratoconus, cornea guttata, or Wilsons disease is compared with no...