[Herpetic eye diseases]. / Herpeserkrankungen am Auge.

The ophthalmologist differs between three forms of manifestation of the herpetic infection: 1. The superficial keratitis with involvement of the epithelium, known as keratitis punctata, stellata or dendritica. 2. The deep for: the keratitis disciformis. This is a delaged hypersensitivity against the herpes virus or its products of metabolism. 3. The metaherpetic keratopathy develops on the basis of a disturbed metabolism after relapsing, mainly deep herpetic keratitis. Therapy differs according to the forms of manifestation. The prevention of relapses is a problem. The frequency of relapses of the corneal herpes is considerably less and the intervals between the relapses are in general considerably longer than in dermatological herpes affections. Therefore, the influence on the recidivity by the drug Lupidon can be appreciated by a long-term study over several years only.

Synthesis of sulfated glycosaminoglycans by the three cell types of the rabbit cornea in culture.

Rabbit corneal cells were cultivated for 21 days and then exposed to Na235SO4, a precursor of sulfated glycosaminoglycans (GAG). All 3 cell types of the cornea, the fibroblasts, the epithelial as well as the endothelial cells, synthesize GAG. The fractionation-patterns of the epithelial and endotherlial GAG are almost identical and differ clearly from the one of fibroblastic GAG.

Biosynthesis of glycosaminoglycans by mammalian corneal epithelium and fibroblasts in vitro. II. Approach to specify the GAG from the two cell types.

35S- as well as 3H-labeled glycosaminoglycans (GAG) produced by cultivated epithelium and fibroblasts of the rabbit cornea were treated with testicular hyaluronidase, leech hyaluronidase and chondroitinase-ABC or -AC. The fractionation-patterns of enzyme-treated GAG were compared with blanks not exposed to enzymes. The epithelial GAG revealed to be generally more resistant to the enzymatic degradation than the GAG synthesized by the fibroblasts, but--depending on the enzyme--in the GAG of both cell types the same fractions were attacked. The decline of the radioactivity in the fractions of enzyme-treated GAG allows the conclusions that both cell types produce relatively small amount of keratan sulfate but mainly chondroitin sulfates with a different degree of sulfation. In addition GAG, not present in the normal cornea, are synthesized: hyaluronic acid chiefly by fibroblasts and probably dermatan sulfate. The possible role of the fibroblastic and epithelial GAG in corneal wound repair is discussed.

Biosynthesis of glycosaminoglycans by mammalian corneal epithelium and fibroblasts in vitro. I. Isolation and fractionation-differences of GAG from the two cell types.

Labeled glycosaminoglycans (GAG) were isolated and fractionated from cultured rabbit corneal epithelium, rabbit or bovine corneal fibroblasts and rabbit bone fibroblasts that had been previously incubated with either Na235SO4 or D-glucosamine-6-3H precursors. Thus it was demonstrated that the epithelium produces GAG. The fractionations indicated that the epithelial cells predominantly synthesize GAG with a lower degree of sulfation than those produced by corneal fibroblasts. The GAG-fractionation-patterns of the corneal epithelium and bone fibroblasts were similar.