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. 2023 Jun 28;12(13):4332. doi: 10.3390/jcm12134332

Figure 1.

Figure 1

Basal epithelial cells display increased protein aggregation, autophagy, and oxidative stress markers in keratoconus (KC) corneal buttons. (A) Hematoxylin/eosin-stained KC cornea showing focal matrix deposit (black arrowhead, Bowman’s mb = Bowman’s layer). (B) Representative images of lipid oxidation marker 4-HNE (yellow) and antioxidant enzyme catalase (CAT, purple) immunofluorescense in corneal epithelial cells (DAPI-stained nuclei/blue). (C) Representative images of HSP70 (cyan) and SQSTM1 (red) immunofluorescense in corneal epithelial cells (DAPI-stained nuclei/blue). (D) Comparative computer-aided densitometric assay of immunostained markers. The gray level intensities of healthy control (HC) and KC corneas represent average intensities. Combined results, n = 30. * p < 0.001 according to Mann–Whitney U test. Results are expressed in box plots as the mean ± SD with whiskers showing minimum and maximum values. The scale bar indicates 100 µm (A) or 1 µm (B,C).