Work

Reconstruction of a human cornea by the self-assembly approach of tissue engineering using the three native cell types

Year: 2010

Type: article

Abstract: Purpose: The purpose of this study was to produce and characterize human tissue-engineered corneas reconstructed using all three corneal cell types (epithelial, stromal, and endothelial cells) by the self-assembly approach.\n\nMethods: Fibroblasts cultured in medium containing serum and ascorbic acid secreted their own extracellular matrix and formed sheets that were superposed to reconstruct a stromal tissue. Endothelial and epithelial cells were seeded on each side of the reconstructed stroma. After culturing at the air-liquid interface, the engineered corneas were fixed for histology and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Immunofluorescence labeling of epithelial keratins, basement membrane components, Na+/K+-ATPase α1, and collagen type I was also performed.\n\nResults: Epithelial and endothelial cells adhered to the reconstructed stroma. After 10 days at the air-liquid interface, the corneal epithelial cells stratified (4 to 5 cell layers) and differentiated into well defined basal and wing cells that also expressed Na+/K+-ATPase α1 protein, keratin 3/12, and basic keratins. Basal epithelial cells from the reconstructed epithelium formed many hemidesmosomes and secreted a well defined basement membrane rich in laminin V and collagen VII. Endothelial cells formed a monolayer of tightly-packed cells and also expressed the function related protein Na+/K+-ATPase α1.\n\nConclusions: This study demonstrates the feasibility of producing a complete tissue-engineered human cornea, similar to native corneas, using untransformed fibroblasts, epithelial and endothelial cells, without the need for exogenous biomaterial.

Source: Corpus Université Laval (Université Laval)

Authors: Giasson, Claude-J., Guérin, Sylvain, Germain, Lucie, Audet, Caroline, Auger, François A., Uwamaliya, Jeanne d'Arc, Proulx, Stéphanie, Carrier, Patrick, Deschambeault, Alexandre

Institutions: Centre hospitalier affilié universitaire de Québec, Université de Montréal, Université Laval

Language: English

Topic: Corneal Surgery and Treatments

Subfield: Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: Université de Montréal, Federal Aviation Administration, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

OpenAlex ID: W7052339859

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