CULTURE OF CORNEAL EPITHELIAL CELLS AND THEIR MORPHOLOGICAL QUANTITATIVE STUDY AFTER IRRADIATION BY ~(60)CoγRAYS

The culture method of corneal epithelial cells in rabbits was developed. The morphological changes of the cells were observed after they were irradiated by 60Coγrays of 10Gy, 20Gy and 30Gy, and a quantitative analysis was made for the area of nucleus and cytoplasm as well as the ratio of nucleus and cytoplasm by using image analyzer. The nucleus of normal corneal epithelial cells was polygon or shuttle-like, and was located near the center of the cell. The nucleus and cytoplasm were remarkably enlarged (p0.01) after irradiation, especially in the 20~30Gy group. The volume of cytoplasm was more remarkably enlarged than that of the nucleus, which changed with some deterioration effects. When the time prolonged after irradiation, the ratio of nucleus and cytoplasm of the cells was gradually decreased. The results may provide a basis for the further study on irradiation effect of corneal epithelial cells.