Special Issue "Corneal Scarring: Wound Healing and Biomaterials"

Guest Editor
Dr. Dimitris Karamichos
Department of Ophthalmology, Schepens Eye Research Institute, Harvard Medical School, 20 Staniford Street, Boston MA 02114, USA
Website: http://www.schepens.harvard.edu/profiledimtris/dimitris-karamichos-phd/profile.html
E-Mail: dimitris.karamichos@schepens.harvard.edu
Interests: corneal wound healing; extracellular matrix; biomaterials; growth factors

Dear Colleagues,

Over 10 million people worldwide are blind as a result of corneal opacity or scarring. Currently, there are few therapeutic options other than corneal transplantation. One of the hopes for treatment of these patients is the development of an artificial cornea or a compatible biomaterial to replace part or all of the affected area. For well over 200 years, ophthalmologists have been intrigued by the concept of replacing an opaque cornea with an optically clear substitute. These efforts have been slowed by the difficulty in finding a substitute that can replace the exquisitely aligned collagen matrix of the cornea, as well as resist rejection. Several investigations have been made in to the use of plastics to develop an artificial cornea, also termed keratoprosthesis. These keratoprosthesis have enjoyed some success however have not solved the problem. As an alternative to the use of plastics, several investigations have been made to engineer an artificial cornea using natural compounds such as collagens, and to allow corneal cells to secrete their own matrix. The goal of these studies is to develop a synthetic cornea that mimics the native cornea and also integrates into the human eye. It is clearly a huge challenge and the input and effort of various scientific disciplines is vital.

Dr. Dimitris Karamichos
Guest Editor

Submission

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• cornea
• scarring
• wound healing
• extracellular matrix
• biomechanics
• biomaterials
• keratocytes

Type of Paper: Review
Title: Current Understanding of Acute Inflammation and Wound Healing Following Corneal Abrasion
Author: Zhijie Li
Affiliation: Key Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine,§ Jinan University, Guangzhou, China; E-Mail: zhijiel@bcm.edu
Abstract: Wound healing response following corneal abrasion, similar to other cutaneous wound healing processes, involves a cascade of events including acute inflammatory responses, proliferation of epithelial cells, and regeneration of superficial nerves. Among those events, the acute inflammatory responses, which is initiated with influx of neutrophils and platelets, followed by influx of NK cells and macrophages, is the key modulator of recovery in structures, such as epithelium and innervation. The current article will focus on the trafficking of inflammatory cells, alterations in microenvironment, and the correlation between the acute inflammation and recovery of corneal structure.

Type of Paper: Review
Title: Novel Insights on the Role of Integrins in the Maintenance of Corneal Structural Integrity
Authors: S.K. Parapuram, A. Leask and W. Hodge
Affiliation: Department of Dentistry, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5C1; E-Mail: sparapur@uwo.ca (S.K.P.)
Abstract: Several studies have established the role of activated corneal keratocytes in the fibrosis of the cornea. However, the role of keratocytes in maintaining the structural integrity of a normal cornea is less appreciated. Based on our recent work and of others we discuss the importance of integrin-mediated keratocyte adherence to matrix in the maintenance of corneal integrity. We point out that further understanding of how keratocytes interact with their matrix could establish a novel direction in preventing fibrosis of the corneal stroma.

Type of Paper: Review
Title: Tissue-Engineering of Corneal Endothelium
Authors: Tatsuya Mimura, Seiichi Yokoo and Satoru Yamagami
Affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Toranomon Hospital, 2-2-2 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8470, Japan; E-Mail: mimurat-tky@umin.ac.jp (T.M.)
Abstract: Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) allows selective replacement of the diseased corneal endothelium. However, DSAEK requires a donor cornea and the worldwide shortage of corneas limits its application. In this review, we introduce our recent work on tissue engineering for DSAEK using cultured human corneal endothelial cells (HCEC). Methods and Results: We seeded cultured HCECs onto collagen sheets, yielding HCEC sheets. The pump function parameters of these sheets were 76% to 95% of those for human donor corneas. Then HCEC sheets were transplanted onto the posterior stroma after Descemetorhexis (DSAEK group). The mean corneal thickness was significantly smaller in the DSAEK group than in the untransplanted control group throughout the observation period. Severe stromal edema was detected in the control group by microscopy with hematoxylin-eosin staining, but not in the DSAEK group. Conclusions: These findings indicate that cultured HCECs transplanted from adult human donor corneas retain their corneal dehydration function and suggest the feasibility of performing DSAEK with HCECs to treat endothelial dysfunction.

Type of Paper: Review
Title: Extracellular Matrix is an Important Component of Limbal Stem Cell Niche
Authors: Hua Mei, Sheyla Gonzalez and Sophie X. Deng
Affiliation: Jules Stein Eye Institute, 100 Stein Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; E-Mails: Mei@jsei.ucla.edu (H.M.); Deng@jsei.ucla.edu (S.X.D.)
Abstract: Extracellular matrix plays an important role in stem cell niche which maintains the undifferentiated stem cell phenotype. Human corneal epithelial stem cells are presumed to reside mainly at the limbal basal epithelium. Efforts have been made to characterize different components of the extracellular matrix that are preferentially expressed at the limbus. Mounting evidence from experimental data suggest that these components are part of the stem cell niche and play a role in the hemostasis of limbal stem cells. The extracellular matrix provides a mechanical and structural support as well as regulates cellular functions such as adhesion, migration, proliferation, self-renewal and differentiation. Optimization of the components of extracellular matrix might be able to recreate an ex vivo stem cell niche to amplify limbal stem cells.