Lectin receptors of normal and dystrophic corneas.

In recent years, our laboratory has used lectins to detect carbohydrate-related abnormalities in dystrophic corneas and species-specific differences in the carbohydrates of normal corneas. These studies have: 1) demonstrated that abnormal glycoconjugates are present in corneas with macular and lattice dystrophy, 2) provided additional means of differentiating corneas with macular, lattice and granular dystrophy, 3) demonstrated that distinct species-specific differences are present in the glycoconjugates of normal corneas and 4) provided guidelines for the selection of an animal model for the study of corneal glycoconjugates.