title: Stability of limbal stem cell deficiency after mechanical and thermal injuries in mice.
abstract: We studied the reproducibility and stability of limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) in mice following controlled injuries to the corneal and limbal epithelia. In one method, corneal and limbal epithelia were entirely removed with a 0.5 mm metal burr. In the other, limbus to limbus epithelial removal with the burr was followed by thermal injury to the limbus. These two methods were compared with a previously published one. Unwounded corneas were used as control. The corneas were examined monthly for three months by slit lamp with fluorescein staining. Immunofluorescence staining for cytokeratin 12 and 8 on corneal wholemount and cross sections were performed to determine the phenotype of the epithelium. Mechanical shaving of the epithelium, with or without thermal injury, resulted in a reproducible state of LSCD marked by superficial neovascularization, reduce of keratin 12 expression and presence of goblet cells on the cornea. The phenotype was stable in 100% of the eyes up to at least three months. Thermal injury produced a more severe phenotype with more significant stromal opacification. These corneal injury models may be useful for studying the mechanisms leading to limbal stem cell deficiency.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA.
authors.forename: Neda
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Afsharkhamseh
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA.
authors.forename: Asadolah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Movahedan
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA.
authors.forename: Sanaz
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gidfar
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Huvard
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wasielewski
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA.
authors.forename: Behrad Y
authors.initials: BY
authors.lastname: Milani
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA.
authors.forename: Medi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eslani
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA. Electronic address: adjalili@uic.edu.
authors.forename: Ali R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Djalilian
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D065306:Corneal Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*; D016510:Corneal Neovascularization / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005126:Eye Burns / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*; D016850:Limbus Corneae / Q000293:injuries / Q000473:pathology*; D051379:Mice; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000473:pathology*
keywords: Conjunctivalization; Cornea; Corneal opacity; Epithelium; Limbal stem cell deficiency; Limbus; Mouse model; Neovascularization; Stem cell