Abstract
Purpose: :
Corneal lymphangiogenesis accompanies many diseases after inflammatory, infectious, or chemical insults and plays a significant role in transplant rejection. It is also known that corneal transplants in infants or children have a higher rejection rate than in adults. However, it has never been studied whether baby corneas differ from adult corneas in inflammatory LG, which is the focus of this study.
Methods: :
Corneal inflammatory LG was induced by a standard suture placement model in C57BL/6 mice of 3 weeks and 8 weeks of age, respectively. Flat-mount corneas were used for immunofluorescent microscopic studies using specific antibodies against LYVE-1 (a lymphatic marker). Digital images were analyzed by NIH Image J software.
Results: :
Baby corneas showed a higher level of LG during inflammation. Lymphatic vessels in baby corneas were of greater density, invasion area, and diameter. No significant difference was detected in branching points.
Conclusions: :
Baby and adult corneas differs greatly in the inflammatory responses of LG. This novel finding may shed some light on our understanding of LG processes as well as the development of new therapeutic protocols for corneal diseases, particularly, in infants or children.
Keywords: neovascularization • transplantation • inflammation