title: UV absorption in human oral mucosal epithelial sheets for ocular surface reconstruction.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Ocular surface reconstruction with autologous oral mucosal epithelium has attracted attention as a novel treatment strategy that avoids allograft rejection.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the absorption of ultraviolet (UV) A or B irradiation by human oral mucosal epithelium cultured on human amniotic membrane.
  
  
  METHODS
  Human oral mucosal and limbal epithelial cells were co-cultured on amniotic membrane with inactivated 3T3 fibroblasts. The cell sheets were also subjected to UV-A (365 nm) or UV-B (302 nm) irradiation at energy levels ranging from 50 to 800 microW/cm2, and the UV absorption rate was measured with a UV irradiation meter.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Cultured oral mucosal epithelium had a structure with 3-5 layers of cells, consistent with the histological features of cultured corneal limbal epithelium after 4 weeks. The decrease in UV-A absorption of cultivated oral mucosal epithelium ranged from 25 to 36% of that for cultured corneal epithelium. The increase in UV-B absorption by cultured oral mucosal epithelium between 200 and 800 microW/cm2 was approximately 145% of that for cultured corneal limbal epithelium.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data demonstrated that cultured oral mucosal epithelium has low UV-A and high UV-B absorption capacity as compared with those of cultured corneal epithelium, suggesting that oral mucosal epithelium can compensate for UV absorption of corneal epithelium.
authors.affiliation: Department of Corneal Tissue Regeneration, University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Seiichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yokoo
authors.forename: Satoru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamagami
authors.forename: Tatsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mimura
authors.forename: Shiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Amano
authors.forename: Hideto
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Saijo
authors.forename: Yoshiyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: Tsuyoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takato
mesh_terms: D016475:3T3 Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000528:radiation effects; D000650:Amnion; D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D018920:Coculture Techniques; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects*; D019573:Epithelium, Corneal / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects; D006801:Humans; D016850:Limbus Corneae / Q000166:cytology; D051379:Mice; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000166:cytology*; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays