Abstract
This study was designed to explore the feasibility of using autologous rabbit adipose derived stem cells (rASCs) as seed cells and polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) as a scaffold for repairing corneal stromal defects. rASCs isolated from rabbit nape adipose tissue were expanded and seeded on a PLGA scaffold to fabricate cell-scaffold constructs. After 1 week of cultivation in vitro, the cell-scaffold complexes were transplanted into corneal stromal defects in rabbits. In vivo, the autologous rASCs-PLGA constructed corneal stroma gradually became transparent without corneal neovascularization after 12 weeks. Hematoxylin and eosin staining and transmission electron microscopy examination revealed that their histological structure and collagen fibril distribution at 24 weeks after implantation were similar to native counterparts. As to the defect treated with PLGA alone, the stromal defects remained. And scar tissue was observed in the untreated-group. The implanted autologous ASCs survived up to 24 weeks post-transplantation and differentiated into functional keratocytes, as assessed by the expression of aldehyde-3-dehydrogenase1A1 (ALDH1A1) and cornea-specific proteoglycan keratocan. Our results revealed that autologous rASCs could be one of the cell sources for corneal stromal restoration in diseased corneas or for tissue engineering of a corneal equivalent.
Highlights
Corneal damage resulting from trauma, infection, dystrophy and corneal failure can lead to corneal opacification, visual impairment, and even blindness [1]
These results indicated that the three-dimensional environment offered by the polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) scaffold was suitable to support the attachment, proliferation and cellular matrix synthesis of the rabbit adipose derived stem cells (rASCs) seeded within it
Adipose derived stem cells (ASCs) were harvested from subcutaneous fat tissue, expanded, seeded within a PLGA scaffold and implanted into the cornea to repair stromal defects
Summary
Corneal damage resulting from trauma, infection, dystrophy and corneal failure can lead to corneal opacification, visual impairment, and even blindness [1]. It has been reported that more than 10 million people worldwide were affected by corneal damages. Corneal transplantation is readily available in many countries, the supply of corneal tissue suitable for transplantation worldwide has never matched demand. The increasing number of laser in-situ keratomileusis (LASIK) operations, which disqualify donor tissue, has become a new threat to the availability of viable donor corneas. It is of great importance to develop alternative treatment regimens, including a tissue engineering approach, to replace conventional corneal transplantation [2,3,4,5,6,7]
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