Preclinical Evaluation of the Safety and Efficacy of Cryopreserved Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stromal Cells for Corneal Repair.

Purpose: Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have been shown to enhance tissue repair as a cell-based therapy. In preparation for a phase I clinical study, we evaluated the safety, dosing, and efficacy of bone marrow-derived MSCs after subconjunctival injection in preclinical animal models of mice, rats, and rabbits.

Methods: Human bone marrow-derived MSCs were expanded to passage 4 and cryopreserved.

Gene dosage manipulation alleviates manifestations of hereditary haploinsufficiency in mice.

In autosomal dominant conditions with haploinsufficiency, a single functional allele cannot maintain sufficient dosage for normal function. We hypothesized that pharmacologic induction of the wild-type allele could lead to gene dosage compensation and mitigation of the disease manifestations. The paired box 6 () gene is crucial in tissue development and maintenance particularly in eye, brain, and pancreas.

A method to control terpineol production from turpentine by acid catalysts mixing.

Terpineol, a promising valorisation product of pine industry, is widely used as an active ingredient for disinfectant soap, cleansers, perfumes, and pharmaceutical purposes. Synthesis of terpineol is generally carried out by separation of α-pinene compounds from crude turpentine through fractionation and then hydrated (addition of water) with the help of acid catalysts. However, direct turpentine hydration without pre-fractionation process can be more beneficial from economic and process point of views.

Reproducible Derivation and Expansion of Corneal Mesenchymal Stromal Cells for Therapeutic Applications.

Purpose: A reproducible protocol for the production of corneal mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (cMSCs) is necessary for potential clinical applications. We aimed to describe successful generation and expansion of cMSCs using an explant method.

Methods: Corneoscleral rims of human cadaveric eyes were divided into four pieces and used as explants to allow outgrowth of cMSCs (passage 0, or P0).

Staphylococcus aureus alpha-hemolysin impairs corneal epithelial wound healing and promotes intracellular bacterial invasion.

Colonization by Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) has been implicated in many infectious and wound healing disorders. This study was performed to characterize the pathogenic role of S.

Corneal Wound Healing Effects of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Secretome Delivered Within a Viscoelastic Gel Carrier.

Severe corneal injuries often result in permanent vision loss and remain a clinical challenge. Human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and their secreted factors (secretome) have been studied for their antiscarring, anti-inflammatory, and antiangiogeneic properties. We aimed to deliver lyophilized MSC secretome (MSC-S) within a viscoelastic gel composed of hyaluronic acid (HA) and chondroitin sulfate (CS) as a way to enhance corneal re-epithelialization and reduce complications after mechanical and chemical injuries of the cornea.

New ex vivo model of corneal endothelial phacoemulsification injury and rescue therapy with mesenchymal stromal cell secretome.

Purpose: To develop a reproducible ex vivo model of corneal endothelial cell injury using phacoemulsification in porcine eyes and to evaluate the effects of mesenchymal stromal cell secretome in this injury model.

Setting: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Design: Experimental study.

Effect of Human Corneal Mesenchymal Stromal Cell-derived Exosomes on Corneal Epithelial Wound Healing.

Purpose: Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have been used therapeutically to modulate inflammation and promote repair. Extracellular vesicles, including exosomes, have been identified as one of the important mediators. This study investigated the effect of human corneal MSC-derived exosomes on corneal epithelial wound healing.

Cornea-Derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Therapeutically Modulate Macrophage Immunophenotype and Angiogenic Function.

Macrophages are crucial drivers of inflammatory corneal neovascularization and thus are potential targets for immunomodulatory therapies. We hypothesized that therapeutic use of cornea-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (cMSCs) may alter the function of macrophages. We found that cMSCs can modulate the phenotype and angiogenic function of macrophages.

Corneal Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Are Directly Antiangiogenic via PEDF and sFLT-1.

Purpose: To evaluate the angiogenic properties of corneal derived mesenchymal stromal cells (Co-MSC).

Methods: Co-MSCs were extracted from human cadaver, and wild-type (C57BL/6J) and SERPINF1-/- mice corneas. The MSC secretome was collected in a serum-free medium.

Tethering Growth Factors to Collagen Surfaces Using Copper-Free Click Chemistry: Surface Characterization and in Vitro Biological Response.

Surface modifications with tethered growth factors have mainly been applied to synthetic polymeric biomaterials in well-controlled, acellular settings, followed by seeding with cells. The known bio-orthogonality of copper-free click chemistry provides an opportunity to not only use it in vitro to create scaffolds or pro-migratory tracks in the presence of living cells, but also potentially apply it to living tissues directly as a coupling modality in situ. In this study, we studied the chemical coupling of growth factors to collagen using biocompatible copper-free click chemistry and its effect on the enhancement of growth factor activity in vitro.

Rapamycin Prolongs the Survival of Corneal Epithelial Cells in Culture.

Rapamycin has previously been shown to have anti-aging effects in cells and organisms. These studies were undertaken to investigate the effects of rapamycin on primary human corneal epithelial cells in vitro. Cell growth and viability were evaluated by bright field microscopy.

Limited versus total epithelial debridement ocular surface injury: Live fluorescence imaging of hemangiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis in Prox1-GFP/Flk1::Myr-mCherry mice.

Background: Immunohistochemical staining experiments have shown that both hemangiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis occur following severe corneal and conjunctival injury and that the neovascularization of the cornea often has severe visual consequences. To better understand how hemangiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis are induced by different degrees of ocular injury, we investigated patterns of injury-induced corneal neovascularization in live Prox1-GFP/Flk1::myr-mCherry mice, in which blood and lymphatic vessels can be imaged simultaneously in vivo.

Methods: The eyes of Prox1-GFP/Flk1::myr-mCherry mice were injured according to four models based on epithelial debridement of the: A) central cornea (a 1.