State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510060, PR China.
State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510060, PR China.
Mater Sci Eng C Mater Biol Appl. 2021 Jan;120:111673. doi: 10.1016/j.msec.2020.111673. Epub 2020 Oct 22.
The bioengineering of corneal scaffolds that mimic native human cornea has attracted interest owing to the scarcity of donor corneas for the transplantation-based treatment of corneal blindness. However, an optimally engineered corneal tissue for clinical use has yet to emerge. Herein, human corneal tissues discarded during allogeneic corneal transplantation surgery were used to construct allogeneic cornea-derived matrix (ACM) scaffolds with favorable optical properties and structural strength. During scaffold fabrication, collagen and glycosaminoglycan levels were well preserved, while DNA decreased significantly. Scanning electron microscopy revealed the presence of fiber-like structures on the scaffold surface and specific structures featuring multiple interlaced lamellae in cross-sections. Moreover, corneal epithelial cells grown on the ACM formed a continuous multi-stratified epithelium with a strong expression of the corneal epithelial differentiation marker CK3/12, gap junction marker Connexin43, and stem-cell-specific marker p63α, while corneal stromal cells expressed the keratocyte-specific marker KERA and the adhesion marker integrin β1. When the ACM was implanted into rabbit corneal stromal pockets, the rabbit cornea remained transparent throughout the follow-up period. These results indicate that the construction of corneal stromal implants from discarded human corneal tissues may pave the way for the generation of high-quality corneal tissue for transplantation.
由于供体角膜稀缺，用于基于移植的角膜盲治疗，因此，模仿天然人眼角膜的角膜支架的生物工程学引起了人们的兴趣。然而，一种用于临床应用的最佳工程化的角膜组织尚未出现。在此，使用同种异体角膜移植术中丢弃的人眼角膜组织来构建具有良好光学性能和结构强度的同种异体角膜衍生基质（ACM）支架。在支架制备过程中，胶原和糖胺聚糖水平得到了很好的保留，而 DNA 则显著减少。扫描电子显微镜显示支架表面存在纤维状结构，在横截面中存在具有多个交织层的特殊结构。此外，在 ACM 上生长的角膜上皮细胞形成了具有强表达角膜上皮分化标志物 CK3/12、缝隙连接标志物 Connexin43 和干细胞特异性标志物 p63α 的连续多层上皮，而角膜基质细胞表达了角膜细胞特异性标志物 KERA 和粘附标志物整合素β1。当将 ACM 植入兔角膜基质囊中时，兔角膜在整个随访期间保持透明。这些结果表明，从废弃的人眼角膜组织构建角膜基质植入物可能为用于移植的高质量角膜组织的生成铺平道路。
