Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: To study the corneal endothelium in cases of FED. Methods: Seven corneal buttons of patients with FED were studied histologically.Paraffin-embedded sections were stained with monoclonal antibodies that react with pancytokeratin,CK7,CK20,and CAM5.2. Results: The endothelial cells showed positive reactivity to pancytokeratin and CK7 in all cases. Variable positivity was seen in CAM5.2. The endothelium was uniformly negative to staining by CK20. The five control corneas showed negative reactvity to all immunologic markers. Conclusion: The positive staining of the endothelium for cytokeratin is consistent with epithelial metaplasia of the corneal endothelium. These changes are similar to those seen in posterior polymorphous dystophy(PPMD). Therefore,epithelial metaplasia of the endothelium is not specific for PPMD and may be found in disttessed endothelial cells from various causes.