Enhanced Regeneration of Corneal Tissue via a Bioengineered Collagen Construct Implanted by a Nondisruptive Surgical Technique

Severe shortage of donor corneas for transplantation, particularly in developing countries, has prompted the advancement of bioengineered tissue alternatives. Bioengineered corneas that can withstand transplantation while maintaining transparency and compatibility with host cells, and that are addit...

Teljes leírás

Elmentve itt :
Bibliográfiai részletek
Szerzők: Koulikovska Marina
Rafat Mehrdad
Petrovski Goran
Veréb Zoltán
Akhtar Saeed
Fagerholm Per
Lagali Neil
Dokumentumtípus: Cikk
Megjelent: 2015
Sorozat:TISSUE ENGINEERING PART A 21 No. 5-6
doi:10.1089/ten.TEA.2014.0562

mtmt:2778493
Online Access:http://publicatio.bibl.u-szeged.hu/18319
Leíró adatok
Tartalmi kivonat:Severe shortage of donor corneas for transplantation, particularly in developing countries, has prompted the advancement of bioengineered tissue alternatives. Bioengineered corneas that can withstand transplantation while maintaining transparency and compatibility with host cells, and that are additionally amenable to standardized, low-cost mass production, are sought. In this study, a bioengineered porcine construct (BPC) was developed to function as a biodegradable scaffold to promote corneal stromal regeneration by host cells. Using high purity medical-grade type I collagen, high 18% collagen content and optimized EDC-NHS crosslinker ratio, BPCs were fabricated into hydrogel corneal implants with over 90% transparency and fourfold increase in strength and stiffness compared to previous versions. Remarkably, optical transparency was achieved despite the absence of collagen fibril organization at the nanoscale. In vitro testing indicated the BPC supported confluent human epithelial and stromal-derived mesenchymal stem cell populations. With a novel femtosecond laser-assisted corneal surgical model in rabbits, cell-free BPCs were implanted in vivo in the corneal stroma of 10 rabbits over an 8 week period. In vivo, transparency of implanted corneas was maintained throughout the postoperative period, while healing occurred rapidly without inflammation and without the use of postoperative steroids. BPC implants had a 100% retention rate at 8 weeks, when host stromal cells began to migrate into implants. Direct histochemical evidence of stromal tissue regeneration was observed by means of migrated host cells producing new collagen from within the implants. This study indicates that a cost-effective BPC extracellular matrix equivalent can incorporate cells passively to initiate regenerative healing of the corneal stroma, and is compatible with human stem or organ-specific cells for future therapeutic applications as a stromal replacement for treating blinding disorders of the cornea.
Terjedelem/Fizikai jellemzők:1116-1130
ISSN:1937-3341