Age-related changes in the corneal endothelium of the mouse.

The endothelial cells of the C57BL/6J mouse cornea show a progressive age-related increase in cell area, and an increasing departure from the initial hexagonal form. Mean endothelial surface areas were 304, 386, 458, 499, and 653 micron2 for mice of ages 1, 4, 11, 22, and 27 months, respectively. Increasing cell areas are interpreted to represent a spreading and thinning of surviving cells to compensate for cell loss. These age-related changes correspond to those previously observed in the rat, although the rat endothelial cells tend to have smaller cell areas and show less variation at each age studied.