Gene therapy for corneal graft survival

Abstract

Corneal transplantation is the most successful form of solid organ transplant but rejection still occurs in approximately 10% of cases, which often leads to blindness. The cornea is an ideal organ for gene therapy and, as such, has been the target of many gene transfer studies. Numerous nonviral and viral vectors have been tested in the cornea, together with different transgene approaches that modulate tolerance, inflammation and angiogenesis. Present and future efforts should enable the use of this technology in the clinic to improve corneal graft survival.