The use of autologous fibrin as a scaffold for cultivating autologous conjunctiva in the treatment of conjunctival defect

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the use of autologous fibrin to human amniotic membrane (HAM) as a scaffold in cultivating autologous conjunctiva for transplantation in treatment of conjunctival defect. An experimental study was performed using 18 adult New Zealand white strain rabbits which were divided into 3 groups. Each group consists of 6 rabbits. The conjunctiva on the temporal site was excised to create a conjunctival epithelial defect. The excised area in the Group 1 was transplanted with autologous conjunctiva cultivated on autologous fibrin; Group 2 was transplanted with autologous conjunctiva cultivated on HAM and Group 3 was left bare. The rabbits were followed up at regular intervals until 6 weeks. The mean period of complete conjunctival epithelization was 11.50 ± 8.22 days for the autologous fibrin group, 15.33 ± 11.80 days for the HAM group and 25.33 ± 5.32 days in the bare sclera group. The epithelization rate for the autologous fibrin group was faster compared to the other two groups. However all the results were not statistically significant (p value >0.05). There were no postoperative complications noted during the follow up. Autologous fibrin is comparable to HAM as a scaffold for cultivation of conjunctiva in the treatment of conjunctival defect.

3D-Printed membrane as an alternative to amniotic membrane for ocular surface/conjunctival defect reconstruction: An in vitro & in vivo study

“…Studies supporting goblet cell repopulation on AM have been mostly conducted through cultivation of conjunctival epithelial cells on AM. Additionally, most of the studies have not reported the percentage of goblet cells [34,65,66]. Three in vivo studies on rabbits have also reported goblet cell repopulation after implantation of cryopreserved AM for conjunctival reconstruction, but none have reported the number of cells [10,65,67].…”

An engineered human conjunctival-like tissue to study ocular surface inflammatory diseases

“…It is biocompatible, degradable, and promotes cell adhesion, which makes it an excellent material for tissue engineering [ 32 ]. It has been used as a scaffold to engineer dermis [ 33 ], cornea [ 34 , 35 ], and even rabbit conjunctiva [ 18 ]. Based on the success of these studies, we have used fibrin to develop the new three-dimensional model described here.…”

Biomaterials and tissue engineering strategies for posterior lamellar eyelid reconstruction: Replacement or regeneration?

“…By following the principles of tissue engineering, a conjunctival equivalent with a multilayered stratified epithelium and individual interspersed goblet cells can be developed in vitro by cultivating conjunctival explants on a matrix that has supportive niche features to facilitate adhesion, proliferation, as well as differentiation of epithelial and goblet cells under defined conditions. Various biomaterials for direct conjunctival replacement, as mentioned above, ranging from decellularized matrixes to artificial synthetic polymers, could possibly be adapted for conjunctival equivalent engineering, such as decellularized amniotic membranes, 32 , 130 decellularized porcine conjunctiva, 17 decellularized porcine pericardium, 10 fibrin, 131 , 132 collagen, 112 , 113 PLGA, 133 PCL, 118 , 134 polyester, 133 and 3D‐printed membranes based on a blend of previously described biomaterials. 81 These biomaterials act as carrier scaffolds of epithelial cells during in vitro culture.…”