Corneal Pathological Changes In Mice Caused By Alkali Burn And The Expression Of HIF-1α And AQP1

The alkali burn of corneal is a common ocular injury in clinics.It has always been concerned as it causes corneal ulcers and neovascularization,thereby destroying the highly transparent and avascular state of the cornea.So it has always been concerned.However,the process of corneal wound healing after alkali burn is still unclear.Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α（HIF-1α）is a key factor involved in hypoxia response,which can lead to angiogenesis in ischemic retinopathy.Aquaporin 1（AQP1）is widely expressed in various tissues of the eye,and it is related to various pathological changes in the eye.It has attracted widespread attention in recent years due to the important role of HIF-1αand AQP1 in the pathology of the eye.Initially,the corneal pathological changes by alkali burn in mice are observed.Secondly,immunofluorescence staining and qRT-PCR techniques were used to detect the expression of HIF-1αand AQP1 in different stages of corneal alkali burn.These results showed that HIF-1αin the normal group was feebly expressed in the corneal epithelial basement membrane,and AQP1was only weakly expressed in the corneal endothelium.The expression of HIF-1αmRNA was up-regulated at 1 d,4 d and 7 d after alkali burn,and the expression of AQP1 mRNA was up-regulated at 1 d and 7 d after injury.In order to further clarify the effect of AQP1 on mice keratocytes in wound repair after corneal alkali burns,and a certain concentration of CoCl₂ was screened by MTT assay and flow cytometry to simulate the hypoxic environment of cells in this experiment.The effect of AQP1 on the migration ability of mice keratocytes was detected by cell migration assay.These results showed that given 50μmol/L CoCl₂ could be used as a hypoxia-simulating drug concentration,and the expression of AQP1 mRNA in keratocytes was up-regulated under hypoxic conditions simulated by this drug.These results showed that hypoxia induced by a certain concentration of CoCl₂ could make the expression of AQP1 mRNA was up-regulated in keratocytes,and the migration ability of keratocytes was enhanced under hypoxic conditions,and AQP1 could promote the migration of keratocytes.In summary,alkali burn could cause corneal pathological changes in mice,and HIF-1αand AQP1 are involved in the pathological process of corneal alkali burn at different stages.The 50μmol/L CoCl₂ could be used to simulating the hypoxic conditions in keratocytes.Under hypoxic conditions,the high expression of AQP1 may promote the migration of keratocytes and facilitate corneal wound healing.This experiment provides a theoretical basis for the treatment of corneal alkali burn-related diseases.