Endothelial wound repair in primate cornea

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Abstract

In vivo transcorneal freezing was used to destroy two-thirds of the endothelial cells in monkey cornea and the sequential process of repair was studied by biomicroscopy, pachometry, scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The freezing injury resulted in complete denudation of cells from Descemet's membrane in the area of the probe, and the corneas became grossly edematous and doubled in thickness during the first 24 hr. Repopulation of the denuded area was complete by 7–9 days and appeared to be due to the enlargement and migration of the marginal endothelial cells. Corneal thickness decreased after the endothelial layer was re-established, but after stabilization remained at least 0·1 mm above control values. Similarities between the pattern of endothelial repair in the primate and of endothelial decompensation (due to age or injury) in the human suggest that this may be a better model for studies of endothelial regeneration than is the rabbit cornea.

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