Title |
Regulatory Compliant Tissue-Engineered Human Corneal Endothelial Grafts Restore Corneal Function of Rabbits with Bullous Keratopathy
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Published in |
Scientific Reports, October 2017
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DOI | 10.1038/s41598-017-14723-z |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Gary S. L. Peh, Heng-Pei Ang, Chan N. Lwin, Khadijah Adnan, Benjamin L. George, Xin-Yi Seah, Shu-Jun Lin, Maninder Bhogal, Yu-Chi Liu, Donald T. Tan, Jodhbir S. Mehta |
Abstract |
Corneal transplantation is the only treatment available to restore vision for individuals with blindness due to corneal endothelial dysfunction. However, severe shortage of available donor corneas remains a global challenge. Functional regulatory compliant tissue-engineered corneal endothelial graft substitute can alleviate this reliance on cadaveric corneal graft material. Here, isolated primary human corneal endothelial cells (CEnCs) propagated using a dual media approach refined towards regulatory compliance showed expression of markers indicative of the human corneal endothelium, and can be tissue-engineered onto thin corneal stromal carriers. Both cellular function and clinical adaptability was demonstrated in a pre-clinical rabbit model of bullous keratopathy using a tissue-engineered endothelial keratoplasty (TE-EK) approach, adapted from routine endothelial keratoplasty procedure for corneal transplantation in human patients. Cornea thickness of rabbits receiving TE-EK graft gradually reduced over the first two weeks, and completely recovered to a thickness of approximately 400 µm by the third week of transplantation, whereas corneas of control rabbits remained significantly thicker over 1,000 µm (p < 0.05) throughout the course of the study. This study showed convincing evidence of the adaptability of the propagated CEnCs and their functionality via a TE-EK approach, which holds great promises in translating the use of cultured CEnCs into the clinic. |
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Unknown | 1 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
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Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 1 | 100% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
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Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
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Researcher | 12 | 17% |
Student > Master | 11 | 15% |
Student > Ph. D. Student | 9 | 13% |
Student > Postgraduate | 7 | 10% |
Student > Bachelor | 5 | 7% |
Other | 15 | 21% |
Unknown | 12 | 17% |
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Veterinary Science and Veterinary Medicine | 2 | 3% |
Other | 8 | 11% |
Unknown | 22 | 31% |