Keratin 10 (K10) is expressed suprabasally throughout the limbus of embryonic and neonatal rat corneas, with interrupted expression in the adult limbus

The corneal epithelium is continuously replaced by epithelial stem cells located in the basal layer of the limbus, located at the margin of the cornea. Studying how the stem cell niche is established at the limbus during development of the eye may lead to better understanding and treatments for diseases associated with limbal deficiencies. Using two highly specific commercially available antibodies, K10 was consistently detected suprabasally throughout the developing limbal epithelium of late gestation (20.5 dpc) and neonatal rat corneas, with interrupted expression in adult rat limbal epithelium. RT-PCR confirmed K10 expression at the transcript level in embryonic, neonatal and adult rat eyes. We have identified a time point where early stages of limbal development may be facilitated by the suprabasal expression of K10.