Light microscopic radioautographic study on protein synthesis in perinatal mouse cornea

The study on the morphological changes and protein synthesis of the perinatal mouse cornea was carried out in 5 groups of perinatal aging mice by light microscopic radioautography after injection of H-3-leucine. The results showed that the morphogenesis and protein synthesis of mouse cornea changed with prenatal and postnatal development and aging. The corneal epithelium consisted of only squamous cells from late embryonic stage to postnatal day 3. However, polygonal and cuboidal cells appeared in the corneal epithelium at postnatal day 8. From postnatal day 14. squamous, cuboidal and columnar cells coexisted in the corneal epithelium. The thickness of the stroma and the endothelium also increased with aging. The incorporation pattern of H-3-leucine into the cornea showed aging changes. The silver grains demonstrating H-3-leucine incorporation were found in all the layers of the cornea, i.e.. the epithelium. stroma and endothelium. The number of silver grains in these cells was low at embryonic day 19 and rapidly increased from the first day after birth and up to the postnatal day 3 and 7. and then decreased to a relatively low level from day 14. Furthermore, the mean numbers of silver grains in both the epithelium and the endothelium were higher than those in the stroma in the same age group.