The protein levels of LYVE-1, podoplanin, VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR2), and VEGFR3 1 week after the alkali burn treatment were evaluated by Western blotting. Three groups were included to compare across groups and experimental conditions: normal cornea without any treatment, normal cornea with bevacizumab injection (negative control for bevacizumab), and alkali burn without treatment. Five corneas were pooled from each group. Briefly, excised corneas were homogenized in 100 mL lysis buffer (Proprep Protein Extraction Solution, INTRON Biotechnology, Sungnam, Korea) using a Precellys 24 bead–based homogenizer (Bertin Technologies, Villeurbanne, France). Proteins (15 μg protein per sample) were electrophoresed on a 10% SDS-polyacrylamide gel. Proteins were electroblotted onto nitrocellulose membranes (Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA, USA), which were blocked using 3% BSA solution. The membranes were incubated using antibodies against rat LYVE-1, podoplanin, VEGFR2, or VEGFR3. After washing with Tris-buffered saline containing 0.05% Tween (TBST), the blots were incubated with the respective secondary peroxidase-labeled antibody for 1 hour at room temperature, washed four times with TBST, and processed for chemiluminescent detection of immunoreactive proteins using a peroxidase substrate (Lumigen PS-3, Lumigen, Southfield, MI, USA).