RANK, RANKL, OPG, and M-CSF Expression in Stromal Cells during Corneal Wound Healing

Abstract

Cells expressing the CD11b monocyte-specific antigen appear in the corneal stroma in high numbers by 24 hours after epithelial injury and persist beyond 10 days after wounding. Cultured corneal fibroblasts and keratocytes in situ express RANKL, OPG, and M-CSF cytokines involved in regulating osteoclast differentiation from monocytes in bone. Cells expressing RANK were detected in the stroma at 24 and 48 hours after epithelial injury. The cytokine systems that regulate monocyte transition to osteoclast in bone are upregulated in the cornea in response to epithelial injury and may participate in regulating monocyte phenotype during corneal stromal wound healing.