Subconjunctival Use of Allogeneic Mesenchymal Stem Cells to Treat Chronic Superficial Keratitis in German Shepherd Dogs: Pilot Study.

Abstract

Background: Chronic superficial keratitis (CSK) is an ocular condition in dogs characterized by corneal opacification leading to visual function impairment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical effect of allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) of adipose tissue in dogs with CSK.Results: The conventional treatment group received topical Prednisolone 1% and the experimental group received MSC on the order of 1x106 were injected via subconjunctival in the peri-limbal region at 0 and 30 days. The animals were followed for 110 days to monitor the clinical progression and the statistical analysis was performed. Comparison of initial and final images revealed that areas with neovascularization and inflammatory infiltrate regressed in most eyes in both the conventional and experimental groups at the end of the 110 days. The experimental group responded positively to MSC treatment, but bellow the response achieved by the conventional group. Some areas of opacity of the cornea become transparent after transplantation of MSC. No local or systemic side effects were observed.Conclusions: Stem cells treatment produced clinical improvement in patients with CSK after 110 days without use of any drug combination and any local or systemic side effects, even if the improvement obtained was less than that seen with conventional corticosteroid therapy.