Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, Vol 31, 448-456, Copyright © 1990 by Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology

ARTICLES AND REPORTS

Expression of the 55-kD/64-kD corneal keratins in ocular surface epithelium

MA Kurpakus, EL Stock and JC Jones
Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, Ill 60611.

According to the concept of keratin pairing defined by tissue coexpression, a 55-kD/64-kD keratin pair is a marker of "corneal-type" differentiation. Intermediate filament (IF)-enriched preparations from guinea pig and bovine corneal epithelium were analyzed, and a rabbit antiserum was generated against a 55-kD polypeptide enriched in these preparations. This antiserum generated a typical IF-like pattern in cultured bovine corneal epithelial cells. Immunofluorescence microscopic analysis of frozen sections of guinea pig and bovine tissue revealed that the 55-kD antiserum labeled corneal and limbal epithelium. In addition, the antiserum stained a subpopulation of peripheral limbal cells that were distributed in both basal and suprabasal layers of the epithelium. The monoclonal antibody AE5 was used to investigate the distribution of the 64-kD polypeptide in guinea pig and bovine tissue. Immunoblotting analysis revealed that AE5 antibodies recognized a 64-kD polypeptide in guinea pig cornea, but recognized a 66-kD polypeptide in bovine cornea. Immunofluorescence microscopic analysis of guinea pig tissue revealed that AE5 antibodies labeled suprabasal layers of corneal epithelium, in suprabasal layers of limbal epithelium, and in groups of cells in the peripheral limbal epithelium. We discuss the possibility that the ocular epithelial cells recognized by either the 55-kD or the 64-kD antibodies in the peripheral limbus may play a role in the reepithelialization of the cornea after wounding.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				K. Yamasaki, S. Kawasaki, R. D. Young, H. Fukuoka, H. Tanioka, M. Nakatsukasa, A. J. Quantock, and S. Kinoshita Genomic Aberrations and Cellular Heterogeneity in SV40-Immortalized Human Corneal Epithelial Cells Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., February 1, 2009; 50(2): 604 - 613. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				W. Adachi, H. Ulanovsky, Y. Li, B. Norman, J. Davis, and J. Piatigorsky Serial Analysis of Gene Expression (SAGE) in the Rat Limbal and Central Corneal Epithelium. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., September 1, 2006; 47(9): 3801 - 3810. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Alaminos, M. D. C. Sanchez-Quevedo, J. I. Munoz-Avila, D. Serrano, S. Medialdea, I. Carreras, and A. Campos Construction of a complete rabbit cornea substitute using a fibrin-agarose scaffold. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., August 1, 2006; 47(8): 3311 - 3317. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Kawasaki, H. Tanioka, K. Yamasaki, N. Yokoi, A. Komuro, and S. Kinoshita Clusters of corneal epithelial cells reside ectopically in human conjunctival epithelium. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., April 1, 2006; 47(4): 1359 - 1367. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Y. Diebold, M. Calonge, A. E. de Salamanca, S. Callejo, R. M. Corrales, V. Saez, K. F. Siemasko, and M. E. Stern Characterization of a Spontaneously Immortalized Cell Line (IOBA-NHC) from Normal Human Conjunctiva Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., October 1, 2003; 44(10): 4263 - 4274. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. C. Anderson and N. SundarRaj Regulation of a Rho-Associated Kinase Expression during the Corneal Epithelial Cell Cycle Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., April 1, 2001; 42(5): 933 - 940. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				F Castro-Munozledo Development of a spontaneous permanent cell line of rabbit corneal epithelial cells that undergoes sequential stages of differentiation in cell culture J. Cell Sci., January 8, 1994; 107(8): 2343 - 2351. [Abstract] [PDF]