Gazi University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology, Ankara, Turkey.
Balıkesir University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Medical Genetics, Balıkesir, Turkey.
J Photochem Photobiol B. 2024 Apr;253:112874. doi: 10.1016/j.jphotobiol.2024.112874. Epub 2024 Feb 24.
Corneal opacities are a major cause of vision loss worldwide. However, the current therapies are suboptimal to manage the corneal wound healing process. Therefore, there is an obvious need to develop new treatment strategies that are efficient in promoting wound healing in patients with severe corneal disorders. In this study, we investigated and compared the efficacy of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADMSCs) and photobiomodulation (PBM) with polychromatic light in the NIR (600-1200 nm) alone and in combination, on corneal opacity, inflammatory response, and tissue architecture in a rat corneal opacity model created by mechanical injury. All animals were divided into four groups randomly following the injury: injury only (no treatment), ADMSCs treatment, PBM treatment and combined (ADMSCs+PBM) treatment (n = 12 eyes per group). At the 10th and 30th day following injury, corneal opacity formation, neovascularization, and corneal thickness were assessed. On the 30th day the harvested corneas were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), histological evaluation, immunohistochemical (IHC) staining and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). On day 30, the corneal opacity score, neovascularization grade, and corneal thickness in all treatment groups were significantly lower in comparison with the untreated injured corneas. The TEM imaging and H&E staining together clearly revealed a significant enhancement in corneal regeneration with improved corneal microenvironment and reduced vascularization in the combined administration of PBM and ADMSCs compared to treatment of PBM and ADMSCs alone. In addition, the IHC staining, and RT-PCR analysis supported our hypothesis that combining ADMSCs therapy with PBM alleviated the inflammatory response, and significantly decreased scar formation compared to either ADMSCs or PBM alone during the corneal wound healing.
角膜混浊是全球范围内导致视力丧失的主要原因。然而，目前的治疗方法对于管理角膜创伤愈合过程并不理想。因此，明显需要开发新的治疗策略，以有效促进严重角膜疾病患者的伤口愈合。在这项研究中，我们研究并比较了脂肪来源间充质干细胞（ADMSCs）和光生物调节（PBM）与多色光在近红外（600-1200nm）中的疗效，单独使用和联合使用，在通过机械损伤建立的大鼠角膜混浊模型中，对角膜混浊、炎症反应和组织结构的影响。所有动物在损伤后随机分为四组：仅损伤（无治疗）、ADMSCs 治疗、PBM 治疗和联合（ADMSCs+PBM）治疗（每组 12 只眼）。在损伤后第 10 天和第 30 天评估角膜混浊形成、新生血管形成和角膜厚度。在第 30 天，通过透射电子显微镜（TEM）、组织学评估、免疫组织化学（IHC）染色和实时聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）分析收获的角膜。第 30 天，与未经处理的受伤角膜相比，所有治疗组的角膜混浊评分、新生血管分级和角膜厚度均显著降低。TEM 成像和 H&E 染色一起清楚地显示，与单独使用 PBM 和 ADMSCs 相比，PBM 和 ADMSCs 联合给药可显著增强角膜再生，改善角膜微环境，减少血管化。此外，IHC 染色和 RT-PCR 分析支持我们的假设，即 ADMSCs 联合 PBM 治疗减轻了炎症反应，并显著减少了与单独使用 ADMSCs 或 PBM 相比，在角膜伤口愈合过程中的瘢痕形成。
