Ultrastructural morphology and morphometry of the normal corneal endothelium of adult crossbred pig

Abstract

Corneal endothelium constitutes a monolayer of polygonal cells. The integrity and health of this layer are essential for the maintenance of normal corneal transparency. This study reported by the first time in a detailed RESUMO O endotélio corneal é uma monocamada de células poligonais. A integridade e saúde dessa camada são essenciais para a manutenção da transparência corneal normal. Este estudo reportou pela primeira vez, de forma detalhada, a morfologia ultra-estrutural e a morfometria do endotélio corneal de suínos adultos mestiços à microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV

Effects of intracameral brilliant blue on the corneal endothelium of swine: in vitro study

“…The results observed in this study show that normal swine corneal endothelium consisted of a continuous monolayer with mainly hexagonal cells, but were also found cells with five sides and with seven sides. Previous studies conducted involving vertebrate animals have shown that there is predominance of cells with hexagonal shape and, in lower proportion, there is presence of five-and seven-sided cells (Collin & Collin, 1998, Pigatto et al 2005, Gum et al 2007, Tamayo-Arango et al 2009, Bercht et al 2015, Coyo, et al 2015.…”

“…This methology has also been used with excellent results in previous studies (Pigatto et al 2005, Franzen et al 2010, Coyo et al 2015. SEM has been widely used to compare the endothelial ultrastructure of vertebrates, and to evaluate the effects of medication, chemicals or surgical procedures on the endothelium (Pigatto et al 2005, Tamayo-Arango et al 2009). …”

“…Swine eyes are considered the standard experimental model for cataract surgeries (Tamayo-Arango et al 2009). The ocular bulbs and cornea sizes of pigs, their morphological endothelium characteristics, their wide availability and their low sale prices are some of the biggest advantages of this choice in medicine and veterinary medicine (Proulx & Brunette 2012).…”

“…The parameters evaluated by specular microscopy did not differ significantly between the right eye bulb and the left eye bulb from the same pig. It is well established that the density of endothelial cells from both healthy eyes of the same patient is similar (Pigatto et al 2005, Gum et al 2007, Tamayo-Arango et al 2009, Bercht et al 2015, Coyo, et al 2015. The examination of specular microscopy performed before starting of the experiment allowed to only be selected healthy eyes.…”

“…Both the endothelium control and experimental groups presented almost the same morphological characters in scanning electron microscopy analyses, and the microvillus and interdigitation were evident in all sample images. The cilia in swine corneal endothelial cells are described by Tamayo The cilia absence or the presence of a few numbers of them in swine endothelium research is due to their fragility during sample production (Collin & Collin 1998, Tamayo-Arango et al 2009). …”