Figure 3. α-Smooth muscle actin (αSMA) and perlecan are upregulated in the stroma following corneal injury. Transverse sections of the control (A and G) and treated (B-F, H and I) corneas were labeled with Draq5 (red nuclei) and antibodies perlecan (A-F; green) or αSMA (G-I; green). Corneas were harvested from control eyes (A and G) or 4 h (B), 1 day (C), 4 days (D, H, and I), 7 days (E), and 14 days (F) after injury. I is a 3D shadow reconstruction of a z-series of confocal optical sections to demonstrate the horizontal arrangement of presumptive myofibroblasts in the stroma within injured region. Arrows indicate cells labeled for αSMA and Draq5. The calibration bar (50 µm) in F applies to A-F, the bar in H applies to G and H, and the bar in I applies to I alone. Abbreviations: epi – epithelium, str – stroma, endo – endothelium.