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Updated: Aug 15, 2026

Ex Vivo Corneal Organ Culture Model for Wound Healing Studies
Published on: February 15, 2019
The expression pattern of the subunit of chaperonin containing T-complex polypeptide 1 and its substrate,
Marina Koulikovska1, Alexander Podskochy, Per Fagerholm
1Department of Ophthalmology, Linköping University Hospital, Linköping, Sweden. mark@ste.ki.se
Purpose:
This study was designed to demonstrate the expression of the chaperonin containing T-complex polypeptide 1 (CCT) and alpha-smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA), in normal corneas and corneas treated with ultraviolet radiation (UVR). The wound model chosen is previously characterized, the injury is mild and the cornea heals to transparency.
Methods:
Rabbit corneas were exposed to UVR at the dose producing keratitis. The corneas were allowed to heal for up to 5 days and the paraffin-embedded tissue specimens were double stained and examined morphologically and immunohistochemically. Expression of CCT and alpha-SMA genes was investigated by semiquantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).
Results:
There was a front of repopulating keratocytes that showed positive staining for alpha-SMA after 3 days. The alpha-SMA mRNA was already strongly expressed after 1 day, whereas the expression level of CCT was increased after 2 days. After 5 days the levels were decreased. By this time the stroma was partly repopulated by keratocytes.
Conclusion:
In a mild wound, the expression of alpha-SMA mRNA is followed by expression of mRNA of at least one subunit of the complex folding alpha-SMA. At protein level, alpha-SMA is detected in the front line of repopulating keratocytes. Expression levels for both mRNAs decline as the stroma repopulation process progresses.
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