Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky.
Department of Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky.
Anat Rec (Hoboken). 2018 Nov;301(11):1955-1967. doi: 10.1002/ar.23890. Epub 2018 Oct 5.
The domestic swine eye resembles the human eye both anatomically and physiologically. Xenotransplantation of the swine cornea to humans in need of full keratoplasty shows promise as a potential therapeutic strategy to restore vision in individuals with advanced corneal disease, especially those residing in developing nations. That said, we characterized the morphology of corneas from miniature swine, which are smaller in size, easier to handle, and more cost-effective compared to domestic swine. Eyes (N = 15) were harvested from miniature swine from different age groups: 1 month (N = 3), 2 month (N = 3), 4 month (N = 3), 8 month (N = 3), as well as 24 month old adult domestic swine (N = 3). They were immediately submerged in fixative and processed for histological examination at the light and transmission electron microscopic level. Gross anatomic measurements of the cornea were significantly less (P value ≤ 0.05) in miniature swine versus domestic swine. Corneal strata exhibited morphological characteristics similar to the domestic swine cornea. Adult miniature swine corneas show similar overall corneal thickness at 8 months of age versus domestic swine. Miniature swine exhibit similar corneal morphology with the domestic pig and humans, with the exception of Bowman's layer, which is absent in pigs. Therefore, miniature pigs may be a useful resource of corneal tissue for humans in need of full keratoplasty, as well as serve as a large eye model for ophthalmology residents to develop surgical skills and for development and testing of ocular therapeutic strategies that translate to humans. Anat Rec, 301:1955-1967, 2018. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
家猪的眼睛在解剖学和生理学上与人类的眼睛相似。将猪角膜异种移植到需要全角膜移植的人类患者中，显示出作为一种潜在治疗策略的前景，可以恢复患有晚期角膜疾病的个体的视力，尤其是那些居住在发展中国家的个体。也就是说，我们对小型猪的角膜形态进行了特征描述，与家猪相比，小型猪体积更小、更容易处理且成本效益更高。我们从不同年龄组的小型猪中采集了眼睛（N = 15）：1 个月（N = 3）、2 个月（N = 3）、4 个月（N = 3）、8 个月（N = 3）以及 24 月龄成年家猪（N = 3）。这些眼睛立即被浸泡在固定剂中，并在光镜和透射电镜水平上进行了组织学检查。与家猪相比，小型猪的角膜大体解剖学测量值显著较小（P 值≤0.05）。角膜层表现出与家猪角膜相似的形态特征。成年小型猪角膜在 8 月龄时的总角膜厚度与家猪相似。小型猪的角膜形态与人类和家猪相似，除了缺乏 Bowman 层。因此，小型猪可能是需要全角膜移植的人类的有用的角膜组织资源，并且可以作为眼科住院医师发展手术技能的大型眼部模型，以及开发和测试可转化为人类的眼部治疗策略。解剖学记录，301：1955-1967，2018。©2018 威利父子公司。
