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ADHESIVE MECHANISMS OF THE CORNEAL EPITHELIUM
Author(s) -
Gipson Ilene K.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
acta ophthalmologica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.534
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1755-3768
pISSN - 1755-375X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-3768.1992.tb02162.x
Subject(s) - hemidesmosome , anchoring fibrils , basement membrane , dermoepidermal junction , lamina lucida , lamina densa , microbiology and biotechnology , corneal epithelium , basal lamina , biology , anatomy , epithelium , chemistry , ultrastructure , dermis , genetics
The corneal epithelium adheres to the stro‐ma through a series of linked structures termed collectively the adhesion complex. These structures include; intermediate filaments (keratin filaments) which are linked to the hemidesmosome; the hemidesmo‐some; the anchoring filaments which extend from the membrane at the hemidesmosome through the lamina lucida to the lamina densa region of the basement membrane; the anchoring fibrils which insert into the basement membrane from the stromal side; and the anchoring plaque on which anchoring fibrils terminate distal from their insertion on the basement membrane. Upon wounding, basal cells of the corneal epithelium disassemble their hemidesmosomes. During migration, the membranes along the wound bed exhibit a different kind of adhesion junction, the focal contact. This junction is present primarily in cells of the leading edge of migration and may be the provisional adhesion junction used by epithelial sheet moving to cover a wound.