Wiley L, SundarRaj N, Sun T T, Thoft R A
Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pennsylvania.
Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 1991 Mar;32(3):594-602.
The authors studied the distribution of specific keratins within the superior, inferior, medial, and lateral regions of human limbus and cornea to determine whether the limbal epithelium exhibits regional heterogeneity in its microstructure. A corneal epithelial basic keratin (K3), recognized by monoclonal antibody AE5, was immunohistochemically undetectable in the basal layers of the limbus in these four regions, but was seen in all layers in the central cornea. The pattern of immunostaining with another monoclonal antibody, AE1, which recognizes several acidic keratins, was complementary to AE5 staining in that AE1 recognized a similar heterogeneity in the limbal epithelial cells. AE1 immunoreacted with the basal cells of the limbus, but not those of the central corneal epithelium. Limbal characteristics, as defined by AE1-positive and AE5-negative staining, extended deeply into peripheral cornea in the superior and inferior regions, but to a lesser extent in the lateral and medial regions. The broader regions of epithelium with limbal characteristics in the superior and inferior regions raises the possibility that these regions play an important role in corneal epithelial maintenance and wound healing.
作者研究了特定角蛋白在人角膜缘和角膜的上、下、内、外侧区域的分布，以确定角膜缘上皮在其微观结构上是否表现出区域异质性。一种被单克隆抗体AE5识别的角膜上皮碱性角蛋白（K3），在这四个区域的角膜缘基底层中通过免疫组织化学方法无法检测到，但在中央角膜的所有层中都可见。另一种识别几种酸性角蛋白的单克隆抗体AE1的免疫染色模式与AE5染色互补，因为AE1在角膜缘上皮细胞中识别出类似的异质性。AE1与角膜缘的基底细胞发生免疫反应，但不与中央角膜上皮的基底细胞发生反应。由AE1阳性和AE5阴性染色所定义的角膜缘特征，在上、下区域深入到周边角膜，但在内、外侧区域程度较小。上、下区域具有角膜缘特征的上皮区域更宽，这增加了这些区域在角膜上皮维持和伤口愈合中起重要作用的可能性。
