Corneal wound repair was investigated in rabbits following excimer laser ablation of a 6mm
diameter and 90μ m deep disc. In the healing process particular attention was focused on
the epithelium where gap junction expression and the rearrangement of desmosomes and
hemidesmosomes were correlated with cell proliferation and epidermal growth factor
receptor expression. Immunofluorescence-based confocal laser scanning microscopy,
semithin resin section morphology and electron microscopy were utilized. In resting cornea …