title: Evaluation of ocular surface glycocalyx using lectin-conjugated fluorescein.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  A glycocalyx plays important roles in the ocular surface epithelium, but there is no direct simple method to evaluate ocular surface glycocalyx. We tested a wheat germ agglutinin conjugate of fluorescein (F-WGA) as a marker to demonstrate ocular surface glycocalyx in vivo.
  
  
  METHODS
  After a 5% F-WGA solution was applied to the eyes of eight healthy volunteers, fluorescent intensities of the central cornea and bulbar conjunctiva were measured by fluorophotometry. A 10% fluorescein-conjugated dextran solution served as the control. Changes in fluorescent intensities of the ocular surface following a challenge with 5% N-acetyl cysteine, a conventional mucolytic agent, were tested in the second experiment. Saline instillation served as a control.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The ocular surface was diffusely stained by F-WGA. Breakup of the precorneal tear film was not apparent, possibly because F-WGA was bound to the glycocalyx of the ocular surface epithelium. F-WGA fluorescent intensities were high in the superior, nasal, and inferior regions of the bulbar conjunctiva and low in the temporal conjunctiva and cornea. No such regional differences were observed with fluorescein-conjugated dextran. F-WGA fluorescent intensities decreased significantly with N-acetyl cysteine instillation, whereas they were not affected by saline instillation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The fluorophotometric method may be used to evaluate the glycocalyx quantitatively in the ocular surface in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Division for Vision Research, National Institute of Sensory Organs, National Tokyo Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mochizuki
authors.forename: Masaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fukui
authors.forename: Shin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hatou
authors.forename: Masakazu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tsubota
references.citation: Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 1998 Dec;39(13):2602-9
references.pmid: 9856770
references.citation: Arch Ophthalmol. 1983 Dec;101(12):1869-72
references.pmid: 6651590
references.citation: Acta Ophthalmol (Copenh). 1968;:Suppl 95:1+
references.pmid: 4170134
references.citation: Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 1990;228(6):528-32
references.pmid: 2265767
references.citation: Cornea. 2006 Feb;25(2):176-81
references.pmid: 16371777
references.citation: J Autoimmun. 1989 Aug;2(4):495-500
references.pmid: 2675893
references.citation: Arch Ophthalmol. 1992 Jul;110(7):984-93
references.pmid: 1637285
references.citation: Acta Ophthalmol (Copenh). 1986 Aug;64(4):445-50
references.pmid: 3022541
references.citation: Exp Eye Res. 1988 Apr;46(4):485-97
references.pmid: 3289955
references.citation: Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2003 Jun;44(6):2487-95
references.pmid: 12766047
references.citation: Ophthalmology. 1992 Apr;99(4):605-17
references.pmid: 1374875
references.citation: Int Rev Cytol. 2003;231:1-49
references.pmid: 14713002
references.citation: Acta Ophthalmol (Copenh). 1991 Jun;69(3):371-6
references.pmid: 1927322
references.citation: Exp Eye Res. 1984 May;38(5):439-47
references.pmid: 6745321
references.citation: Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2000 May;41(6):1316-26
references.pmid: 10798646
references.citation: Br J Ophthalmol. 2004 Mar;88(3):377-83
references.pmid: 14977773
references.citation: Am J Ophthalmol. 2003 Sep;136(3):513-9
references.pmid: 12967806
references.citation: Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 1995 Aug;36(9):1818-27
references.pmid: 7635656
references.citation: Br J Ophthalmol. 2005 Dec;89(12):1655-9
references.pmid: 16299150
references.citation: J Mol Biol. 1984 Sep 5;178(1):91-104
references.pmid: 6548265
references.citation: Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 1994 Mar;35(3):1046-58
references.pmid: 7510270
references.citation: Dev Ophthalmol. 2008;41:1-20
references.pmid: 18453758
references.citation: Cornea. 1985-1986;4(1):30-4
references.pmid: 2419028
references.citation: Curr Eye Res. 1999 Jul;19(1):4-11
references.pmid: 10415451