I-JONG WANGTsai R.J.-F.Yeh L.-K.Tsai R.Y.-N.FUNG-RONG HUKao W.W.Y.2021-07-012021-07-0120111932-6203https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-79251578346&doi=10.1371%2fjournal.pone.0014537&partnerID=40&md5=7b9bf04f002ebd8953f7b1f75a75adffhttps://scholars.lib.ntu.edu.tw/handle/123456789/567300Background: To examine the corneal epithelial phenotype in an altered basement membrane. Methodology/Principal Findings: Corneas from 9 patients with symptoms of continuous unstable corneal curvature (CUCC) were harvested by penetrating keratoplasty and subjected to histology examination and immunohistochemical staining with transactivating and N-terminally truncated pP63 transcript (DNp63), cytokeratin 3 (Krt3), ATP-binding cassette subfamily G member 2 (ABCG2), connexin 43 (CX43), p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases (p38MAPK), activating protein 2 (TFAP2), and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (Erk1/2) monoclonal antibodies. Positive immunostaining with ABCG2, p38MAPK, and TFAP2 monoclonal antibodies was observed in the basal epithelial cells of CUCC patients, and CX43 and DNp63 were detected in the full-thickness epithelial cells of CUCC patients. Conclusions/Significance: Our results indicate that alteration of the corneal basement membrane induces a dedifferentiation- like phenotype in corneal basal epithelial cells. ? 2011 Wang et al.[SDGs]SDG3breast cancer resistance protein; connexin 43; cytokeratin 3; mitogen activated protein kinase 1; mitogen activated protein kinase 3; mitogen activated protein kinase p38; monoclonal antibody; protein p63; transcription factor AP 2; eye protein; adolescent; adult; amino terminal sequence; article; basement membrane; cell dedifferentiation; clinical article; continous unstable corneal curvature; controlled study; cornea curvature; cornea disease; cornea epithelium; epithelium cell; female; gene expression; gene identification; histopathology; human; human cell; human tissue; immunohistochemistry; male; penetrating keratoplasty; phenotype; transcription initiation; chemistry; cornea; cornea epithelium; pathology; phenotype; Basement Membrane; Cell Dedifferentiation; Cornea; Epithelial Cells; Epithelium, Corneal; Eye Proteins; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Keratoplasty, Penetrating; Phenotypejournal article10.1371/journal.pone.0014537212642852-s2.0-79251578346