The cornea is the transparent, outer-most tissue of the eye that transmits and refracts light conducive to visual acuity. In the adult cornea, damage or infection to the corneal stroma leads to a rapid and robust wound healing response characterized by keratocyte proliferation, fibrosis, increased inflammation leading to cytokine-induced apoptosis, generation of repair myofibroblasts, and overall remodeling of the extracellular matrix (ECM)1,2. Following injury, such corneal tissue repair results in opaque scar tissue that reduces corneal transparency and occludes the passage of light, thus distorting vision and, in the most severe cases, leading to corneal blindness3. Thus, there is a clear need to develop reliable animal models to address the complexities of wound healing and to identify the cellular and molecular factors responsible for wound closure and tissue regeneration.
To date, most studies examining corneal wound healing have utilized post-natal4 or adult animal models1,2,5,6,7. While these studies have led to a significant advancement in the understanding of the corneal wound healing response and the mechanisms underlying scar formation, the damaged corneal tissues in these healing models fail to fully regenerate, thus limiting their utility for identifying the molecular factors and cellular mechanisms responsible for fully recapitulating corneal morphology and structure post-injury. By contrast, fetal wounds generated with a knife in the embryonic chick cornea possess an intrinsic capacity to heal fully in a scarless fashion8. Specifically, the embryonic chick cornea exhibits nonfibrotic regeneration with the complete recapitulation of the extracellular matrix structure and innervation patterns8,9.
The present protocol describes a sequence of steps involved in wounding the cornea of an embryonic chick in ovo. First, eggs are windowed at early embryonic ages to facilitate access to the embryo. Second, a series of in ovo physical manipulations to the extraembryonic membranes are conducted to ensure access to the eye is maintained through later stages of development, corresponding to when the three cellular layers of the cornea are formed and wounding is desired. Third, linear central cornea incisions penetrating through the corneal epithelium and into the anterior stroma are made using a microsurgical knife. The regeneration process or fully restored corneas can be analyzed for regenerative potential using various cellular and molecular techniques following the wounding procedure.