Cornea with Peters' anomaly: perturbed differentiation of corneal cells and abnormal extracellular matrix in the corneal stroma.
OBJECTIVE
We examined histopathologically the anterior ocular segment including the cornea and lens of an eye which had been enucleated in a patient with Peters' anomaly because of untreatable corneal perforation. Special effort was made to differentiate the corneal stromal and endothelial cells, and the stromal extracellular matrix.


METHODS
Light microscopy, with hematoxylin and eosin staining, and transmission electron microscopy were employed.


RESULTS
Corneal endothelial cells and Descemet's membrane were not detected in the central cornea, where there were immature cells with a fibroblastic configuration. The inner surface of the peripheral cornea was covered with cells containing pigment granules in the cytoplasm. Cell density in the central corneal stroma was relatively high. The diameter of the stromal collagen fibrils was not uniform. A mature collagen fibril-free area was also seen in the central corneal stroma.


CONCLUSIONS
Differentiation of neural crest-derived cells in corneal stroma and endothelium might have been perturbed in the cornea of this patient with Peters' anomaly, inducing the defect in the corneal endothelium and the qualitative and quantitative abnormalities of the extracellular matrix.
Ohkawa
Kiyomi
K
Department of Ophthalmology, Wakayama Medical University, Wakayama, Japan.
Saika
Shizuya
S
Hayashi
Yuko
Y
Tawara
Akihiko
A
Ohnishi
Yoshitaka
Y
D002452:Cell Count; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D003318:Corneal Opacity / Q000151:congenital / Q000473:pathology*; D003319:Corneal Stroma / Q000473:pathology*; D003886:Descemet Membrane / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004728:Endothelium, Corneal / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000473:pathology*; D005124:Eye Abnormalities / Q000473:pathology*; D015353:Eye Enucleation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007905:Lens Diseases / Q000151:congenital / Q000473:pathology*; D000267:Tissue Adhesions