A novel association between resident tissue macrophages and nerves in the peripheral stroma of the murine cornea

Abstract

Purpose. To characterize the interactions between resident macrophage populations and nerves in naïve and injured corneas of the mouse eye. Methods. Corneas from wild-type (WT) C57BL/6J, BALB/cJ, and transgenic Cx3cr1-eGFP mice were subjected to a 1-mm central epithelial debridement injury. The eyes were fixed and immunostained as flat mounts with a range of antibodies to identify macrophages, neurons, and Schwann cells. Interactions between nerves and immune cells were analyzed and quantitated using three-dimensional reconstructions of confocal microscopy images. Naïve eyes acted as controls. Results. A distinctive association between resident immune cells and corneal nerves was noted in th..