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The effect of ultraviolet‐B irradiation on the cell shedding rate of the corneal epithelium
Author(s) -
Ren Hongwei,
Wilson Graeme
Publication year - 1994
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.1755-3768.1994.tb02794.x
Subject(s) - cornea , corneal epithelium , epithelium , irradiation , cell , andrology , biology , chemistry , anatomy , microbiology and biotechnology , pathology , medicine , biochemistry , neuroscience , physics , nuclear physics
. In this study cell shedding rates of the corneal epithelium were determined in vitro following a single suprathreshold dose of ultraviolet‐B irradiation. Rabbit corneas were excised and superfused in pairs. The epithelial and endothelial surfaces were bathed with solutions containing essential ions and adjusted to appropriate pH and osmolality. One cornea in each pair was irradiated, while the other cornea served as a control. Shed cells were periodically collected from the corneal surface and the shedding rate determined by counting the number of cells in a 50 min time period. Following a latent period of about 3 h, the epithelial shedding rate accelerated, and remained elevated for at least 8 h after irradiation. This result suggests that suprathreshold doses of ultraviolet‐B irradiation disrupt the normal orderly cell shedding process and homeostatic equilibrium of the corneal epithelium. The elevated cell shedding rate exposes subsurface nerve endings and causes the characteristic pain of photokeratitis.