Decellularization of ostrich's corneal lenticule and its safety evaluation in the rabbit's cornea.
Hossein Aghamollaei1 *, Khosrow Jadidi2 , Majid kadkhodaei3 , Shokoofe Rafati4
- Chemical injuries research center, systems biology and poisonings institute, Baqiyatallah university of medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- Vision Health Research Center, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran
- Department of Genetics, Faculty of Advanced Science and Technology, Tehran Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
- Iran University of medical sciences
Abstract: Corneal transplantation is one of the acceptable methods for the treatment of severe corneal disorders. However, there is a worldwide limitation for corneal donors. tissue engineering can be an alternative option to overcome this limitation. This study aimed to conduct a safety evaluation of ostrich corneal tissue as a native extracellular Matrix in the rabbit's cornea.
Methods: Six native ostrich corneas were prepared and decellularized with chemical detergents. Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells were seeded on the surface of corneal tissue and evaluated by optical and electron microscopy. The recellularized cornea was implanted into the rabbit’s corneal stroma. Rabbits were followed for 3 months and graft properties were evaluated by clinical and histological examination.
Results: Histological examination showed that ostrich corneal lenticule was decellularized by chemical method without ECM degradation. Three months of follow-up of rabbits by slit lamp microscopy, pentacam imaging, and histological evaluation showed that the graft was integrated into the host cornea. Complications including neovascularization, opacity, inflammation, infection or rejection were not detected.
Conclusion: Our results indicated that this method of xenograft transplantation is safe for lamellar keratopathy. Since anatomical features of the Ostriche cornea are similar to human eyes, suggesting that ostrich acellular corneal scaffolds may have great advantages and potential in human corneal tissue engineering.
