Tissue Culture and in Vivo Modeling of Corneal Opacification and Ocular Injuries Induced by Pulsed Millimeter Waves

摘要

The eventual aims of these experiments were to use intact corneas incubated in vitro and corneas of rats or rabbits exposed in vivo to high energy pulsed millimeter waves to study the development of corneal damage. Such experiments were expected (1) to establish conditions for corneal damage and (2) to elucidate the mechanisms by which the damage occurs. In order to perform these tests, studies of damage top corneas exposed to elevated temperatures in vitro are required as controls to establish a baseline. Rabbit corneas were exposed for a period of 30 minutes to elevated temperatures. Epithelial cell changes appeared to be more pronounced than endothelial cell changes at all temperatures. Epithelial cells changed from flat cells with elevated intercellular junctions and short cylindrical microvilli increased damage was seen, including cell curling to look like potato chips, increased stromal denudation and fibrous cell surfaces. Both these changes and endothelial changes (below) were accentuated in vitamin E containing medium. For endothelial cells also, progressive increases in damage were seen as temperature increased: 'potato chip' cells, some cell swelling obscuring cell boundaries, clumps and cell processes covering cell surfaces leading to rough fibrous cell surfaces, with many holes. Stromal changes, leading to stromal disorganization and separation into many fine individual strands also occurred with increasing temperature.