Advances in corneal wound healing and stroma remodeling

Stroma is the major part of cornea.The factors maintain corneal stroma transparency include the ultrastructural anatomy and physiology of the cornea and its cellular and extracellular components.During corneal development, neural crest cells and keratoblasts differentiate into keratocytes, which synthesize high levels of collagen and proteoglycans.The production and assembly of collagen fibers need a series of intracellular and extracellular components.The assembled collagen fibers deposite in ECM, assemble into high-order structures to synthesize small fiber bundles, and then form a larger structure in a particular tissue.Corneal wound healing is completed in highly coordinate by various cells and cytokines in time and space.The keratocytes phenotype changes and the remodeling of corneal stroma ECM are two important factors in this process.Corneal refractive surgery are carried out in the worldwide, although most corneal refractive surgery are successful, But the stromal opacity formed during the remodeling of corneal stroma is the most important cause of visual impairment and visual quality decline after refractive surgery.Well understanding the course of stroma remodeling after corneal injury, is meaningful for the exploration of decreasing corneal opacity formation.In this paper, the corneal stroma structure and its synthesis and assembly, the pathophysiological process of stroma remodeling in corneal wound healing and after corneal refractive surgery were reviewed. Key words: Corneal stroma; Corneal wound healing; Stroma remodeling; Refractive surgery