Developmental changes in patterns of expression of tenascin-C variants in the human cornea.

Abstract

TN-C may play a role in corneal development and in growth and differentiation of stem cells because it is widely expressed in the preterm cornea, less so in the neonate, and is restricted to the limbus in the child and adult. The differential patterns of expression of TN-C variants in normal corneas (preterm and neonatal), and in the limbus (preterm, neonatal, child, and adult), suggest specific roles played by each variant, and cell type-specific expression of the different variants.