Reconstruction of corneal stroma using tissue engineering technique
Abstract：Aim A complex of functional corneal stromal cells and polyglycolic acid (PGA) polymer was used to reconstruct new corneal stroma, aimed to provide a basis for future studies on the reconstruction of cornea by tissue engineering technique.Methods The cultured corneal stromal cell-polymer complex was grafted to the subdermis of female balb/c nude mice.Six weeks after grafting,the new reformed tissue was fixed for histology examination and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).At the same time, the new deposited collagen fibril diameter was measured.Results The paraffin-embedded cross-section of the reconstructed cornea showed the stromal layer was a waved, crossed-web structure, which similar to the normal corneal stroma.Tissue engineered corneal stroma deposited collagen fibrils of diameters ranging from 19 to 43 nm, mean diameter (27.7± 6.2) nm,similar in diameter to those seen in normal corneal stroma.Conclusion The reconstructed tissue which mimicked normal corneas in key characteristic, including morphology and histology structure, provides an ideal experimental model for corneal physiological, pathology, toxicity and drug efficacy testing.
Keywords：corneacorneal stromapolyglycolic acidbiocompatible materials
Publication Date：2003-01-01
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：2( 1254-1255 )