Figure 10. Hevin gene ablation leads to elevated VEGF expression in corneal stroma.

VEGF expression (^) showed progressive increase in Hevin^-/- mouse from week 2 (H), which maximizes at week 3 (I) and week 4 (J). On the contrary, WT mouse showed minimal expression of VEGF at 2 weeks post-op (C), which was further reduced in week 3 (D) and week 4 (E). rhHevin treatment reduced VEGF expression in these mice and rescued them to near normal levels at week 4 (L and N, respectively for WT and Hevin^-/- corneas) as supported by western blot analysis (O). Scale bar = 25μm.