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Garzón I, Chato-Astrain J, González-Gallardo C, Ionescu A, Cardona JDLC, Mateu M, Carda C, Pérez MDM, Martín-Piedra MÁ, Alaminos M. Long-Term in vivo Evaluation of Orthotypical and Heterotypical Bioengineered Human Corneas. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2020; 8:681. [PMID: 32671048 PMCID: PMC7327129 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2020.00681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2020] [Accepted: 06/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose Human cornea substitutes generated by tissue engineering currently require limbal stem cells for the generation of orthotypical epithelial cell cultures. We recently reported that bioengineered corneas can be fabricated in vitro from a heterotypical source obtained from Wharton’s jelly in the human umbilical cord (HWJSC). Methods Here, we generated a partial thickness cornea model based on plastic compression nanostructured fibrin-agarose biomaterials with cornea epithelial cells on top, as an orthotypical model (HOC), or with HWJSC, as a heterotypical model (HHC), and determined their potential in vivo usefulness by implantation in an animal model. Results No major side effects were seen 3 and 12 months after implantation of either bioengineered partial cornea model in rabbit corneas. Clinical results determined by slit lamp and optical coherence tomography were positive after 12 months. Histological and immunohistochemical findings demonstrated that in vitro HOC and HHC had moderate levels of stromal and epithelial cell marker expression, whereas in vivo grafted corneas were more similar to control corneas. Conclusion These results suggest that both models are potentially useful to treat diseases requiring anterior cornea replacement, and that HHC may be an efficient alternative to the use of HOC which circumvents the need to generate cornea epithelial cell cultures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ingrid Garzón
- Tissue Engineering Group, Department of Histology, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.,Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.GRANADA, Granada, Spain
| | - Jesus Chato-Astrain
- Tissue Engineering Group, Department of Histology, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.,Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.GRANADA, Granada, Spain
| | | | - Ana Ionescu
- Biomaterials Optics Group, Department of Optics, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| | | | - Miguel Mateu
- Tissue Engineering Group, Department of Histology, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.,Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.GRANADA, Granada, Spain
| | - Carmen Carda
- Department of Histology and Pathology, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
| | - María Del Mar Pérez
- Biomaterials Optics Group, Department of Optics, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Miguel Ángel Martín-Piedra
- Tissue Engineering Group, Department of Histology, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.,Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.GRANADA, Granada, Spain
| | - Miguel Alaminos
- Tissue Engineering Group, Department of Histology, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.,Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.GRANADA, Granada, Spain
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Limbal Stem Cells from Aged Donors Are a Suitable Source for Clinical Application. Stem Cells Int 2016; 2016:3032128. [PMID: 28042298 PMCID: PMC5155095 DOI: 10.1155/2016/3032128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2016] [Revised: 10/02/2016] [Accepted: 10/09/2016] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Limbal stem cells (LSC) are the progenitor cells that maintain the transparency of the cornea. Limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) leads to corneal opacity, inflammation, scarring, and blindness. A clinical approach to treat this condition consists in LSC transplantation (LSCT) after ex vivo expansion of LSC. In unilateral LSCD, an autologous transplant is possible, but cases of bilateral LSCD require allogenic LSCT. Cadaveric donors represent the most important source of LSC allografts for treatment of bilateral LSCD when living relative donors are not available. To evaluate the suitability of aged cadaveric donors for LSCT, we compared three pools of LSC from donors of different ages (<60 years, 60–75 years, and >75 years). We evaluated graft quality in terms of percent of p63-positive (p63+) cells by immunofluorescence, colony forming efficiency, and mRNA and protein expression of p63, PAX6, Wnt7a, E-cadherin, and cytokeratin (CK) 12, CK3, and CK19. The results showed that LSC cultures from aged donors can express ≥3% of p63+ cells—considered as the minimum value for predicting favorable clinical outcomes after LSCT—suggesting that these cells could be a suitable source of LSC for transplantation. Our results also indicate the need to evaluate LSC graft quality criteria for each donor.
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