LEС Ltd., Rozhdestvenskaya, 7, Mytischi, Russia; Imtek Ltd., 3rd Cherepkovskaya 15A, Moscow, Russia; Research Institute of Eye Diseases, 11A Rossolimo St., Moscow, Russia.
Imtek Ltd., 3rd Cherepkovskaya 15A, Moscow, Russia; Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, FSBI MOH Russia, Gamalei 18, Moscow, Russia.
Exp Eye Res. 2021 Jun;207:108580. doi: 10.1016/j.exer.2021.108580. Epub 2021 Apr 17.
Although collagen based materials are widely used in corneal tissue engineering with promising results. The usage of such materials for the improvement of corneal biomechanical properties is still unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate a new Viscoll collagen-based membrane for the improvement of corneal biomechanical characteristics.The right eyes of 15 Chinchilla rabbits were implanted with the membrane via an intrastromal pocket, with the contralateral intact eyes as controls. At 7, 30, 90, and 180 days post-surgery, the rabbits underwent anterior segment optical coherence topography, clinical examination, and slit-lamp microscopy. Additionally, the corneal samples also underwent histological examination followed by the assessment of the biomechanical characteristics of four treated and non-treated corneas at 30, 90, and 180 days, including keratometry at 180 days, post operation. Data are presented as means ± confidence intervals with a 95% confidence level. All the operated corneas retained their transparency throughout the study. Implantation approximately doubled the central corneal thickness. Corneas became stronger by approximately 87% between 1 and 6 months after surgery (maximum fracture load, 13.3 ± 0.8 and 24.9 ± 1.4 N, respectively), and their elasticity increased by approximately 27% over the same time frame (maximum slope of the elastic region of the stress-strain curve, 11.5 ± 0.2 and 14.6 ± 1.4 N/mm respectively). We have thus proposed a new method to increase corneal thickness and strengthen the corneal tissues while preserving their transparency and demonstrated its safety and efficacy in a rabbit model over 6 months. This may be a suitable alternative to the existing corneal collagen crosslinking procedure.
尽管基于胶原蛋白的材料在角膜组织工程中得到了广泛应用，并取得了有希望的结果，但它们在改善角膜生物力学特性方面的应用仍不清楚。在这项研究中，我们旨在研究一种新的基于 Viscoll 胶原蛋白的膜，以改善角膜生物力学特性。
15 只青紫兰兔的右眼通过基质内囊袋植入该膜，对侧未处理的眼睛作为对照。手术后 7、30、90 和 180 天，兔子接受眼前节光学相干断层扫描、临床检查和裂隙灯显微镜检查。此外，角膜样本还进行了组织学检查，然后评估了 4 个处理和未处理的角膜在 30、90 和 180 天的生物力学特性，包括术后 180 天的角膜曲率。数据以平均值±置信区间表示，置信水平为 95%。
所有手术角膜在整个研究过程中均保持透明。植入物使中央角膜厚度增加了约两倍。手术后 1 至 6 个月，角膜的强度增加了约 87%（最大断裂负荷分别为 13.3±0.8 和 24.9±1.4 N），其弹性在同一时间段内增加了约 27%（最大弹性区域的弹性区域斜率分别为 11.5±0.2 和 14.6±1.4 N/mm）。
因此，我们提出了一种增加角膜厚度和增强角膜组织的新方法，同时保持其透明度，并在兔模型中证明了其在 6 个月内的安全性和有效性。这可能是现有角膜胶原交联程序的一种合适替代方法。
