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Survival and integration of tissue-engineered corneal stroma in a model of corneal ulcer

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Abstract

Tissue-engineered replacement of diseased or damaged tissue has become a reality for some types of tissue, such as skin and cartilage. Tissue-engineered corneal stroma represents a promising concept to overcome the limitations of cornea replacement with allograft. In this study, porcine cornea was decellularized by a series of extraction methods, and the in vivo biocompatibility of the scaffold was measured subcutaneously in rabbits (n = 8). These were not acutely rejected and no abscesses were observed by hematoxylin and eosin staining at the 8th week, indicating that the scaffolds had good biocompatibility. To investigate the potential value of clinical applications, rabbit stromal keratocytes were implanted onto decellularized scaffolds to fabricate tissue-engineered corneal stroma. Allograft, tissue-engineered corneal stroma, or scaffolds were implanted into a model of corneal ulcer. The survival and reconstruction of corneal transplantation were morphologically evaluated by light and electron microscopy until the 32nd week after implantation. Experiments involving transplantation indicated that the epithelial and stromal defect healed quickly, with improvement in corneal clarity. The integration of the graft was accompanied by neurite ingrowth from the host tissue. By 16 weeks after transplantation, the cornea had gradually regained an intact state similar to that of normal cornea. Our results demonstrate that the tissue-engineered corneal stroma with allogenetic cells is a promising therapeutic method for corneal injury.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oral Histology and Pathology, Research and Development Center for Tissue Engineering, School of Stomatology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, 710032, People’s Republic of China

    Chao Zhang, Xin Nie, Dan Hu, Yuan Liu, Zhihong Deng, Rui Dong, YongJie Zhang & Yan Jin

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, Shaanxi Provincial Corps Hospital, Chinese People’s Armed Police Forces, Xi’an, Shaanxi, 710054, People’s Republic of China

    Chao Zhang

  3. Department of Ophthalmology, Department of Otolaryngology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, 710032, People’s Republic of China

    Dan Hu & Zhihong Deng

Authors
  1. Chao Zhang
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  2. Xin Nie
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  3. Dan Hu
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  4. Yuan Liu
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  5. Zhihong Deng
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  6. Rui Dong
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  7. YongJie Zhang
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  8. Yan Jin
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yan Jin.

Additional information

This study was supported by the Nature Science Foundation of China (project no. 30572046) and the Development of High and New Science and Technology (863 Project) of China (2002AA205041, 2005AA205241).

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Zhang, C., Nie, X., Hu, D. et al. Survival and integration of tissue-engineered corneal stroma in a model of corneal ulcer. Cell Tissue Res 329, 249–257 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-007-0419-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-007-0419-1

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