Journal Article

Compressed Collagen Enhances Stem Cell Therapy for Corneal Scarring

Funderburgh, James L., Du, Yiqin, Khandaker, Irona, Sylakowski, Kyle, Funderburgh, Martha L., Shojaati, Golnar

2018

Overview

Stem cells from human corneal stroma (CSSC) suppress corneal stromal scarring in a mouse wound‐healing model and promote regeneration of native transparent tissue (PMID:25504883). This study investigated efficacy of compressed collagen gel (CCG) as a vehicle to deliver CSSC for corneal therapy. CSSC isolated from limbal stroma of human donor corneas were embedded in soluble rat‐tendon collagen, gelled at 37°C, and partially dehydrated to a thickness of 100 µm by passive absorption. The CCG disks were dimensionally stable, easy to handle, and could be adhered securely to de‐epithelialized mouse cornea with fibrin‐based adhesive. CSSC in CCG maintained >80% viability for >1 week in culture media and could be cryopreserved in 20% fetal bovine serum‐10%DMSO in liquid nitrogen. CCG containing as few as 500 CSSC effectively prevented visible scarring and suppressed expression of fibrotic Col3a1 mRNA. CSSC in CCG were more effective at blocking scarring on a per‐cell basis than CSSC delivered directly in a fibrin gel as previously described. Collagen‐embedded cells retained the ability to suppress corneal scarring after conventional cryopreservation. This study demonstrates use of a common biomaterial that can facilitate storage and handling of stem cells in a manner that may provide off‐the‐shelf delivery of stem cells as a therapy for corneal scarring. Stem Cells Translational Medicine 2018;7:487–494 Corneal stromal stem cells (A) mixed with soluble collagen (B) are gelled in a 24‐well culture plate (C). Cells are concentrated by absorption with a fibrous plunger (D) forming a 100 μm thick disk (E). 2 mm disks punched with a trephine are cryopreserved (F) or adhered to the surface of a wounded cornea with fibrin adhesive (G) inducing corneal regeneration (H).

• Publisher: Oxford University Press,John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subject: Adult stem cells / Animal models / Animals / Biocompatibility / Biological products / Biomaterials / Cell culture / Cell growth / Cell Survival - drug effects / Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy / Cellular therapy / Cicatrix - therapy / Collagen / Collagen - chemistry / Cornea / Cornea - cytology / Cornea - pathology / Cryopreservation / Culture media / Disease Models, Animal / Enabling Technologies for Cell-Based Clinical Translation / Female / Fibrin / Gene expression / Humans / Hydrogels - chemistry / Hydrogels - pharmacology / Laboratory animals / Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Mice / mRNA / Myofibroblast / Scars / Stem Cell Transplantation / Stem cells / Stem Cells - cytology / Stem Cells - drug effects / Stem Cells - metabolism / Stroma / Stromal cells / Technological Advancements / Tissue Engineering - methods / Tissue Scaffolds / Translational s and Reviews / Transplantation / Transplants & implants / Vision Loss / Repair / Wound healing / Wound Healing / Fibrosis