Abstract
The corneas of rat, mouse and guinea pig were investigated usinglight and electron microscopy as well as immunohistochemistry. We,here, examined the cholinergic structures in the cornea by immunohistochemistryfor choline acetyltransferase of the two forms, the alternativesplice variant from choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) cDNA preferentiallylocated in peripheral nerves (pChAT) and the common type (cChAT).Positive staining for cChAT was found only in non-neuronal epithelialcells, while pChAT positive staining occurred exclusively in nervefibers being distributed throughout the cornea. Such pChAT positivenerve axons were frequently smooth with few varicosities, except fortheir terminal swellings. The distribution pattern of pChAT positivenerves was compared with that of three neuropeptides known to befound in corneal nerves, including protein gene product 9.5 (PGP 9.5), substance P (SP) and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP).The co-localization of pChAT with either of these neuropeptides hasbeen assumed on the base of their great similarity in distributionpattern and closeness in their routes inside the cornea. From theseresults it is concluded that rat, mouse and guinea pig corneas havelittle morphological differences and have a remarkable non-neuronalcholinergic activity in their epithelium together with what can besuggested to be cholinergic nerves represented in the pChAT positivenerve fibers. The function of acetyl choline in the corneal epitheliumand the possible origin and function of corneal cholinergic nerves hasbeen discussed.
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