Hassan Taghreed A, Abouelela Yara S, Ahmed Zainab Sabry Othman, Ibrahim Marwa A, Rizk Hamdy, Tolba Ayman
Anatomy and Embryology Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, 12211, Egypt.
Anatomy and Embryology Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, 12211, Egypt.
Exp Eye Res. 2025 Feb;251:110203. doi: 10.1016/j.exer.2024.110203. Epub 2024 Dec 10.
One of the main causes of corneal blindness is corneal alkali burn, which can also result in serious side effects such as limbal stem cell deficit, corneal perforation, and permanent epithelial abnormalities. This study set out to investigate the therapeutic potential of ADMSCs and BMMSCs for the reconstruction of the corneal surface after chemical alkali burn. Twelve adult rabbits were divided equally into four groups. Each rabbit in the other groups had a chemical alkali burn applied to their right eye using 6 mm-wide NaoH soaked filter paper, while the negative control group had no intervention. All groups except negative control group received topical and subconjunctival injections. Group I (Negative control) received no therapy, whereas Group II received an injection of phosphate-buffered saline as the positive control. Group III received 1 mL of ADMSCs, while Group IV received 1 mL of BMMSCs. After 4 weeks, the corneal tissue underwent morphological, histological, immunohistochemical examination and gene expression. The ocular tissue underwent histopathological examination revealed re-epithelialization and nearly normal architecture in the BMMSC-treated group. The injured cornea treated with ADMSCs showed partial repair of the anterior epithelium, in addition to inflammatory cells infiltration. An immunohistochemical analysis revealed that, compared to ADMSCs and positive control groups, the majority of the stromal cells in the cornea treated by BMMSCs exhibited robust positive expression of vimentin and Ki67. BMMSCs exhibited considerably higher levels of gene expression for corneal indicators, such as keratin 12 and connexin 43, in comparison to other groups. In treating a corneal chemical burn, this study shows that MSCs produced from bone marrow and adipose tissue effectively reduce tissue inflammation, enhance corneal tissue repair, and stimulate cell renewal, with BMMSCs showing better outcomes.
角膜碱烧伤是导致角膜盲的主要原因之一，它还会引发严重的副作用，如角膜缘干细胞缺乏、角膜穿孔和永久性上皮异常。本研究旨在探讨脂肪间充质干细胞（ADMSCs）和骨髓间充质干细胞（BMMSCs）在化学性碱烧伤后角膜表面重建中的治疗潜力。将12只成年兔平均分为四组。其他组的每只兔子右眼均使用6毫米宽的浸有氢氧化钠的滤纸进行化学碱烧伤，而阴性对照组不进行干预。除阴性对照组外，所有组均接受局部和结膜下注射。第一组（阴性对照）不接受治疗，而第二组注射磷酸盐缓冲盐水作为阳性对照。第三组接受1毫升ADMSCs注射，第四组接受1毫升BMMSCs注射。4周后，对角膜组织进行形态学、组织学、免疫组织化学检查和基因表达检测。对眼组织进行组织病理学检查发现，BMMSC治疗组角膜实现了再上皮化，结构近乎正常。ADMSCs治疗的受损角膜除有炎症细胞浸润外，前部上皮有部分修复。免疫组织化学分析显示，与ADMSCs组和阳性对照组相比，BMMSCs治疗的角膜中大多数基质细胞波形蛋白和Ki-６７呈强阳性表达。与其他组相比，BMMSCs角膜指标如角蛋白12和连接蛋白43的基因表达水平显著更高。本研究表明，在治疗角膜化学烧伤时，骨髓和脂肪组织来源的间充质干细胞能有效减轻组织炎症，促进角膜组织修复并刺激细胞更新，其中BMMSCs效果更佳。
