Figure 6.

NO effect on corneal wound healing. NaNO₂ was used as an NO donor. (A) Cultured human keratocytes were stimulated by transforming growth factor β1 and myofibroblast differentiation was verified by increased α-SMA expression in protein blots. Addition of NaNO₂ in the culture media inhibited myofibroblast differentiation of keratocytes, as verified by decreased α-SMA expression. Approximately 20% decreased α-SMA expression was observed when 1,000 µM of NaNO₂ was added to the medium (unpublished data by the authors). (B) In vivo effect of NO in corneal chemical burn in Balb/c mice. Corneal opacity grade after healing from chemical burns significantly decreased with the topical treatment of NaNO₂ compared with PBS treatment. (C) The expression of α-SMA in keratocytes after TGF-β1 stimulation is attenuated by topical NaNO₂ treatment. (D) Representative ocular surface pictures of healing process of chemical burn shows more transparent cornea in NaNO₂-treated mouse compared with PBS control. Panels B and C are from Fig. 6 in “Effect of Nitric Oxide on Human Corneal Epithelial Cell Viability and Corneal Wound Healing” Park et al. Sci Rep. 2017;7(1):8093 under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. *, P<0.05; **, P<0.01. TGF-β1, transforming growth factor beta-1; GAPDH, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase; SD, standard deviation; PBS, phosphate buffered saline; α-SMA, alpha smooth muscle actin; NO, nitric oxide.