Fig 6. Effect of the HFD on corneal responses to central epithelial abrasion.

Corneas from ND and HFD fed mice were analyzed after epithelial abrasion. (A) γδ T cells were counted in the epithelium and stroma across the cornea and plotted at 0, 6, 12, and 18h after epithelial abrasion (n = 6 per group). (B) Representative micrograph of extravascular platelets (red) around the limbal vascular network (green) at 12h after injury in a mouse fed a ND. Scale bar = 25 μm. (C) The sum of platelets in eight random non-overlapping 40X fields of view in the corneal limbus determined at 12, 18 and 24h after corneal abrasion (n = 4 at each time point). (D) Kinetics of neutrophil influx into the central abraded area of the cornea (counts from four 40X fields in the center of the cornea, n = 8 at each time point) are plotted at 12, 18, 24, 30, and 48h after abrasion. (E) Kinetics of neutrophil influx into the corneal limbus (counts from eight 40X fields in the limbus, n = 4–8 at each time point) prior to wounding (0h) and at 6, 12, 18, 24, 48, and 96h after abrasion. (F) Representative micrographs of neutrophil (green) influx around the limbal vascular (red) network at 48h after injury. Scale bar = 40 μm. (G) Limbal stromal NK cell counts (determined from nine vertical and horizontal 40X fields across the cornea, n = 8 per group) without wounding (0h), and at 18 and 24h after epithelial abrasion. Data shown as means ± SD. *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001, ****p<0.0001.