Changes in Human Donor Corneas Preserved for Longer Than 4 Weeks

Abstract

From these data, we conclude that long-term organ culture in a closed system is limited to approximately 6 weeks and thereby confirm the clinical results of Früh and Böhnke.

Use of a serum-free medium for long-term storage of human corneas. Influence on endothelial cell density and corneal metabolism

“…Analysis of metabolic changes in organ-cultured donor corneas showed that the corneas recover during organ culture, especially during the first 2 weeks. Improved biochemical values were found during the first 4 weeks and acceptable conditions for only up to 6 weeks [8,9]. After 4 weeks of culture, the entire population of keratocytes was found to be still alive, but in contrast to the situation after 2 weeks only very few mitotic keratocytes could be detected [7].…”

“…The main criterion for the quality of a donor cornea is the endothelial cell density. During culture, a progressive decrease in endothelial cell density occurs that may result in total endothelial necrosis if the storage period exceeds 6 weeks [8]. However, clinical results comparable with those obtained using corneas in culture for shorter periods have been reported after keratoplasty using donor corneas cultured for up to 7 weeks and with endothelial cell density still greater than 2000 cells/mm 2 [2,4].…”

Efficient and sustained transgene expression in human corneal cells mediated by a lentiviral vector

“…9,10 The lentiviral vector pseudotyped with VSV-glycoprotein has a broad target cell range allowing the vector to transduce a diversity of cells, such as human hematopoietic stem cells, 11,12 rat hippocampal cells, 13,14 human macrophages, 15 rat liver and muscle cells, 16 and rat retinal cells. 17 Unlike other transplanted tissues, the cornea can be maintained in vitro for days, 18,19 allowing ex vivo transduction before transplantation. 3 The permanent genetic modification of corneal cells may benefit patients with a wide variety of corneal defects.…”

Detection of contamination during organ culture of the human cornea

“…In our study, no routine media exchange was performed until deswelling or day 28 of organ culture, when some corneas were further preserved for emergency grafting purposes [22]. Media samples were taken in a sterile bank using a sterile needle through the rubber infusion stoppers (sterilized prior to use), which were protected by pre-sterilized knurled caps during storage (similar to infusion bottle caps), and additionally surface-decontaminated prior to sampling.…”