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Corneal Endothelium: Applied Anatomy

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Corneal Regeneration

Part of the book series: Essentials in Ophthalmology ((ESSENTIALS))

Abstract

Corneal endothelium is derived from the neural crest, and it is the innermost layer of the cornea. It consists on a monolayer of flat cells on an amorphous collagenous membrane, Descemet’s membrane. It functions as a permeability barrier and as an active pump to generate an osmotic gradient to keep the relative stromal deturgescence (78% water content) required for corneal transparency and also participates in the synthesis of Descemet’s membrane. At birth there are over 3000 cells/mm2 that tend to decline with aging at approximately 0.6% pace reduction during the adult period. Nevertheless, a minimal numerical density of 400–500 cells/mm2 is required to sustain the pumping activity of the endothelium. Zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1), aquaporin 1, Na+/K+ pump, and neuron-specific enolase are classic markers of endothelial cells. Expression of these proteins is not unique of corneal endothelium, but the pattern subcellular distribution using these and other proteins such as N-cadherin, NCAM, integrin α3ß1, or the actin/myosin network can be used to distinguish these cells from the other corneal cell types. Specific identification of these cells is highly important to select culture subpopulation for cell therapies.

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Compliance with Ethical Requirements

Francisco Arnalich-Montiel declares no conflict of interest. No human or animal studies were carried out by the author for this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Vissum Corporation, Madrid, Spain

    Francisco Arnalich-Montiel

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  1. Francisco Arnalich-Montiel
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Miguel Hernández University , Alicante, Spain

    Jorge L. Alió

  2. Vissum-Instituto Oftalmologico de Alica, University Miguel Hernandez, Alicante, Alicante, Spain

    Jorge L. Alió del Barrio

  3. Vissum Corporation, Madrid, Spain

    Francisco Arnalich-Montiel

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Arnalich-Montiel, F. (2019). Corneal Endothelium: Applied Anatomy. In: Alió, J., Alió del Barrio, J., Arnalich-Montiel, F. (eds) Corneal Regeneration . Essentials in Ophthalmology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01304-2_27

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01304-2_27

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-01303-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-01304-2

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