School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom.
Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2010 Jun;51(6):2936-42. doi: 10.1167/iovs.09-4612. Epub 2010 Jan 20.
To characterize changes in corneal collagen arrangement during mouse postnatal development.
Small-angle X-ray scatter patterns were gathered from the centers of 32 excised mice corneas aged between postnatal days 10 (before eye opening) and 28 (onset of sexual maturity). These were analyzed to produce measurements of the average separation distance between corneal collagen fibrils. Changes in the predominant orientation of corneal collagen and its relative distribution during the same developmental period were determined using wide-angle X-ray scatter data collected at 0.2-mm intervals over the entire cornea and limbal region of each specimen.
Collagen interfibrillar spacing decreased in the days leading up to eye opening (61.3 +/- 2.9 nm at day 10 to 45.5 +/- 4.5 nm at day 14), after which it remained constant. However, changes in collagen orientation and distribution occurred throughout the entire developmental period. After eye opening at day 12, collagen alignment gradually increased in the peripheral cornea and limbus. By day 28, an annulus of highly aligned collagen surrounded the cornea.
Changes in corneal thickness before and after eye opening are not caused by widespread alterations in the collagen fibrillar array but are more likely caused by expansion and contraction of regions devoid of regularly arranged collagen. The postnatal development of a corneal annulus of collagen, thought to play a role in stabilizing the curvature of the cornea, may be triggered by visual factors.
描述小鼠出生后发育过程中角膜胶原排列的变化。
从小鼠 32 只眼角膜中心采集小角度 X 射线散射模式，这些眼角膜的年龄在出生后 10 天（睁眼前）至 28 天（性成熟开始）之间。对这些数据进行分析，得出角膜胶原纤维平均分离距离的测量值。在同一发育时期，还使用广角 X 射线散射数据确定了角膜胶原的主要取向及其相对分布的变化，这些数据是在每个标本的整个角膜和角膜缘区域每隔 0.2 毫米采集的。
在睁眼前的几天里，胶原纤维间的间隔减小（第 10 天为 61.3 +/- 2.9nm，第 14 天为 45.5 +/- 4.5nm），之后保持不变。然而，胶原的取向和分布变化发生在整个发育时期。第 12 天眼睛睁开后，周边角膜和角膜缘的胶原排列逐渐增加。到第 28 天，一个高度排列的胶原环围绕着角膜。
眼睛睁开前后角膜厚度的变化不是由胶原纤维排列的广泛改变引起的，而是更可能是由于缺乏规则排列胶原的区域的扩张和收缩引起的。角膜胶原环的出生后发育，被认为在稳定角膜曲率方面发挥作用，可能是由视觉因素引发的。
