Fig. 8: HA-Col click gels decreased scar formation associated with myofibroblastic activity in the corneal stroma and maintained the epithelial and endothelial markers in rabbit corneas. | npj Regenerative Medicine

Fig. 8: HA-Col click gels decreased scar formation associated with myofibroblastic activity in the corneal stroma and maintained the epithelial and endothelial markers in rabbit corneas.

From: Bio-orthogonal crosslinking and hyaluronan facilitate transparent healing after treatment of deep corneal injuries with in situ-forming hydrogels

Fig. 8

a Representative immunohistochemical staining images of rabbit corneas on day 60. F-actin and α-smooth muscle actin (αSMA) are biomarkers for myofibroblastic activity. Cytokeratin12 (CK12) is a biomarker for corneal epithelium. Zonula occludens (ZO)−1 is a tight junction protein in corneal epithelia. Na+/K+-ATPase (NKA) is an endothelial biomarker related to the sodium-potassium pump. Nuclei were also stained and shown in blue. Scale bars represent 50 µm in all images. Quantification of (b) thickness of regenerated corneal epithelia, (c) stromal F-actin intensities, (d) cell density, and (e) αSMA intensities in the injured corneal stroma on day 60. (E) n = 3 per group. Ordinary one-way ANOVA tests were used to calculate the p values. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, ****p < 0.0001. HA is hyaluronic acid. Col is collagen. PBS is a phosphate buffer solution. Graphs were created in GraphPad Prism 10.

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