Transplantation of cultured human neonatal corneal endothelium

Abstract

Human neonatal corneal endothelial cells were successfully maintained in tissue culture, morphologically resembling adult corneal endothelium. Eyebank donor corneas were obtained, denuded of their native endothelium and seeded with a suspension of the cultivated neonatal endothelial cells. After 48 hours, the eye-bank tissue was then transplanted into the eyes of Rhesus monkeys. Over a five month period, five of eight transplants cleared, with a mean central corneal thickness of 0.480 mm and endothelial cell densities ranging from 560 to 1650 cells/mm2. All control eyes without donor endothelium remained cloudy. In the experimental group three eyes initially thinned but subsequently became edematous. Further studies are needed to improve the seeding procedure and to assess the long-term viability of transplanted endothelium.

Metabolic Plasticity in Cell State Homeostasis and Differentiation of Cultured Human Corneal Endothelial Cells

“…11,[41][42][43][44][45] One of the most notable obstacles to the application of cHCECs for cell-based therapy is the lack of an established reliable method for verifying the quality of cHCECs. In this study, we presented a noninvasive method for monitoring cell quality, as opposed to the invasive method that involves following surface CD markers.…”

Cell Homogeneity Indispensable for Regenerative Medicine by Cultured Human Corneal Endothelial Cells

“…[30][31][32][33][34][35] Cultured HCECs expanded in an in vitro culture system can be composed of multiple SPs of cHCECs, including those with CST. Cultured cells also tend toward karyotype changes.…”

Properties of Corneas Reconstructed with Cultured Human Corneal Endothelial Cells and Human Corneal Stroma

“…10 Moreover, several groups have demonstrated the capacity of endothelial cells to survive and function properly when transplanted onto a nonnative cornea in species possessing 1,2,4,11 or lacking 3 regenerative capacity of their native corneal endothelium. Furthermore, recent attempts to transplant HCEC to monkey 12,13 and human recipients 14,15 have been successful. Despite these promising achievements, much work remains in the characterization of the ex vivo properties of tissue-engineered corneas using cultured HCEC before cultured HCEC transplantation will become a feasible alternative to cornea transplantation.…”

“…Despite these promising achievements, much work remains in the characterization of the ex vivo properties of tissue-engineered corneas using cultured HCEC before cultured HCEC transplantation will become a feasible alternative to cornea transplantation. While several previous studies [1][2][3][4][11][12][13][14][15] have investigated the validity of tissue-engineered corneas by transplanting them to animals, few studies have examined the ex vivo function of tissue-engineered corneas. Although in vivo investigation of tissue-engineered corneas is essential prior to clinical application, quantitative analysis of the tissue-engineered corneas is difficult to perform in vivo.…”