Corneal Epithelial Abrasion with Ocular Burr As a Model for Cornea Wound Healing

Abstract

The murine cornea provides an excellent model to study wound healing. The cornea is the outermost layer of the eye, and thus is the first defense to injury. In fact, the most common type of eye injury found in clinic is a corneal abrasion. Here, we utilize an ocular burr to induce an abrasion resulting in removal of the corneal epithelium in vivo on anesthetized mice. This method allows for targeted and reproducible epithelial disruption, leaving other areas intact. In addition, we describe the visualization of the abraded epithelium with fluorescein staining and provide concrete advice on how to visualize the abraded cornea. Then, we follow the timeline of wound healing 0, 18, and 72 h after abrasion, until the wound is re-epithelialized. The epithelial abrasion model of corneal injury is ideal for studies on epithelial cell proliferation, migration and re-epithelialization of the corneal layers. However, this method is not optimal to study stromal activation during wound healing, because the ocular burr does not penetrate to the stromal cell layers. This method is also suitable for clinical applications, for example, pre-clinical test of drug effectiveness.

Ectodysplasin-A signaling is a key integrator in the lacrimal gland–cornea feedback loop

“…S5A). Nevertheless, we confirmed a delay in our corneal abrasion model (Kalha et al, 2018a) (Fig. S5B), and analyzed the expression of several factors known to play a role during corneal wound healing (Klenkler et al, 2007;Yan et al, 2016) (Fig.…”

“…Cornea injuries were performed on anesthetized 13 wo animals as previously described (Kalha et al, 2018a). In brief, an ocular burr (Algerbrush II, BR2-5 0,5 mm, Alger company) was used to remove an area of the central cornea epithelium, avoiding peripheral and limbal regions.…”

“…Corneal abrasion represents one of the most common eye injuries (Kalha et al, 2018a). In a healthy context, cornea wound healing occurs spontaneously and is known to be supported by an increase in secretion of LG-specific factors in reflex tears (Petznick et al, 2013).…”

Unilateral corneal insult in Zebrafish results in a bilateral cell shape and identity modification, supporting wound closure

“…In case of a deeply embedded foreign object, corneal irregularities might form, resulting in significant visual disruption. Previously, we showed that murine corneal wound closure was based on cell rearrangements (Kalha et a.l, 2018a), and tear composition was quickly modified after corneal insult (Kuony et al, 2019). These changes in corneal microenvironment, undoubtly supporting corneal healing, were crucial for proper wound closure, by bringing a new mix of factors through the tears when needed, for instance to support corneal wound healing after insult.…”

“…An elegant study demonstrated that epithelial renewal is similar in zebrafish and mammalian cornea (Pan et al, 2013). Indeed, both forms of epithelial renewal were found in mouse (Kalha et al, 2018a) and zebrafish (Pan et al, 2013). A local one, based on progenitor cells, and a global one, based on stem cells located at corneal periphery in a structure called limbus.…”