Published online before print August 3, 2007

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Copyright © 2007 American Society for Investigative Pathology
American Journal of Pathology, doi:10.2353/ajpath.2007.070008

Accepted for publication June 11, 2007.

Article

T Cells Are Necessary for Platelet and Neutrophil Accumulation in Limbal Vessels and Efficient Epithelial Repair after Corneal Abrasion

Zhijie Li^*, Alan R. Burns^*, Rolando E. Rumbaut^*, and C. Wayne Smith^*¶@

From the Department of Pediatrics,* Section of Leukocyte Biology, Children's Nutrition Research Center,^¶ and the Department of Medicine, Section of Cardiovascular Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas; Medical Care Line, Michael E. DeBakey Veteran's Administration Medical Center, Houston, Texas; and the Department of Ophthalmology, Institute of Tissue Transplantation and Immunology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China

^@ To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: cwsmith{at}bcm.tmc.edu.

	Abstract

Corneal epithelial abrasion in C57BL/6 mice induces an inflammatory response with peak accumulation of neutrophils in the corneal stroma within 12 hours. Platelets localize in the limbal vessels throughout the same time course as neutrophils and contribute to wound healing because antibody-dependent depletion of platelets retards epithelial division and wound closure. In the present study, T cells in the limbal epithelium were found to predominantly express the T-cell receptor (TCR). Corneal abrasion in wild-type, CD11a^-/-, and P-sel^-/- mice increased the numbers of T cells in the limbal and peripheral corneal epithelium and in the corneal stroma adjacent to the limbal blood vessels. Intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1^-/- mice exhibited a reduction in T-cell accumulation. TCR^-/- mice exhibited reduced inflammation and delayed epithelial wound healing as evidenced by delayed wound closure, reduced epithelial cell division, reduced neutrophil infiltration, and reduced epithelial cell density at 96 hours after wounding. TCR^-/- mice also exhibited >60% reduction in platelet localization in the limbus despite similar platelet counts and platelet function assessed with an in vivo thrombosis model. These results are consistent with the conclusion that T cells are necessary for efficient inflammation, platelet localization in the limbus, and epithelial wound healing after corneal abrasion.