Bioengineered Human Corneal Endothelium for Transplantation

Bone Marrow-Derived Endothelial Progenitor Cells: A Promising Therapeutic Alternative for Corneal Endothelial Dysfunction

“…There are seven characteristics of CEC, including (1) a polygonal cell shape and (2) a pump function, such as Na-K-ATPase [Lai et al, 2006] and AQP1 [Joyce, 2003]. The pump function is used by the endothelium to counteract the tendency of the corneal stroma to swell by removing excess stromal fluid via the activity of Na + /K + -ATPase and bicarbonate-dependent Mg 2+ -ATPase.…”

“…AQP1 expression is reduced in human corneas with endothelial disease, but not in human corneas with corneal disease of a nonendothelial nature [Macnamara et al, 2004]. Other CEC characteristics are (3) a barrier function, such as tight junctions (ZO-1) [Lai et al, 2006]; (4) collagen VIII expression [Chen et al, 2001], which is a component of Descemet's membrane secreted by endothelial cells; (5) positive for monoclonal antibody 9.3.E [Engelmann et al, 2001;Zhu and Joyce, 2004], which is an antibody established by Professor Engelmann that specifically stains endothelial cells within the cornea but does not stain corneal epithelial cells and stromal keratocytes, and (6) NSE expression. The majority of the CEC and stromal cells of the mammalian eye derive from the neural crest, but some cells in both layers derive from the mesoderm [Gage et al, 2005].…”

The Development of a Tissue-Engineered Cornea: Biomaterials and Culture Methods

“…Similarly, corneal endothelial cell sheet engineering has been achieved from temperature-responsive culture surfaces. Studies have demonstrated that cell morphology, cellular interconnections, and the monolayer architecture of endothelial sheets harvested from thermoresponsive culture mimic the natural corneal endothelium (27,28). Sumide et al determined that the number of sodiumpotassium ATPase pump sites (4.65 Ϯ 0.2 ϫ 10 9 pump sites/mm 2 ) were similar to those of the native corneal endothelium (4.4 Ϯ 0.2 ϫ 10 9 pump sites/mm 2 ).…”

“…Slit lamp microscopy demonstrated that, in comparison with the control group, the corneas with the endothelial cell sheet had increased corneal transparency. Lai et al also engineered endothelial cell sheets using the temperature-responsive technique and demonstrated that viable endothelial cell sheets with intact barrier and pump functions can be obtained without the need for cell carriers during cultivation (27).…”

In vitro culture of human fetal corneal endothelial cells

“…Penetrating keratoplasty (PKP) or corneal endothelium transplantation are an effective therapeutic tool, but often restricted because of limited donor sources, especially in China. Tissue engineered corneal endothelium may provide a novel and hopeful pathway to resolve this problem [2,3], but the critical prerequisite is to develop a proper culture system, including the primary culture, in vitro expansion, cryopreservation, and recovery, in order to get enough and functional corneal endothelial cells from a small biopsy.…”