角膜上皮细胞基底膜的研究进展

Research advance of corneal epithelial basement membrane

角膜上皮细胞基底膜是一层很薄的组织,它的结构与其他部位的基底膜既有相似之处,也有独特的地方,在角膜创伤修复中有着重要的作用。基底膜组织的破坏会导致一系列棘手的角膜病变,而近来对角膜上皮细胞基底膜的研究使我们在这些病变的治疗方面有了新的入手点。就近年来角膜上皮细胞基底膜的研究进展做一综述。

Corneal epithelial basement membrane is an important structure of the eye. Compared to basement membrane elsewhere in the body, it has something special. This membrane is composed of dense sheets of extracellular matrix formed by various types of cells that are known to play a fundamental role in modulating cell processes such as adhesion, migration, proliferation, and differentiation. Topography of basement membrane is also important in modulating cellular behaviors. Corneal epithelial basement membrane plays a considerable role in the wound healing process as well. It has been known for many years that fibronectin is deposited on the wound matrix during repair. More recently, it has become known that a variety of other components are synthesized and deposited in response to wounding. Matrix metalloproteinases （MMPs） are now found to be involved in the degradation of basement membrane, while laminins （LNs） are required for the reformation of junctions among corneal epithelial cells. Destruction or pathological change of corneal epithelial basement membrane will lead to keratopathies such as haze after photorefractive keratectomy （PRK） , diabetic keratopathy, anterior basement membrane dystrophy（ABMD） , and traumatic recurrent corneal erosion. However, recent study on corneal epithelial basement membrane may provide us with some new methods.