Wide-field contact specular microscopy analysis of corneal endothelium post trabeculectomy.

Purpose: This study investigates the possible role of the filtration bleb in the continuous decrease in corneal endothelial cell (CEC) density observed following trabeculectomy.

Methods: This study involved 51 eyes of 37 glaucoma patients who underwent trabeculectomy. The CEC density was determined by contact specular microscopy in three areas: (1) the cornea center, (2) near the trabeculectomy filtration bleb, and (3) the opposite side of the bleb.

Immune Cells on the Corneal Endothelium of an Allogeneic Corneal Transplantation Rabbit Model.

Purpose: Corneal endothelial cell density undergoes a progressive decrease for many years after transplantation, eventually threatening patients with late endothelial failure. The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility of an immunologic response in successfully grafted corneal endothelium.

Methods: The corneal endothelium of patients who had undergone corneal transplantation was evaluated by specular microscopy.

Effect of the Rho-Associated Kinase Inhibitor Eye Drop (Ripasudil) on Corneal Endothelial Wound Healing.

Purpose: Ripasudil (Glanatec), a selective rho-associated coiled coil-containing protein kinase (ROCK) inhibitor, was approved as a glaucoma and ocular hypertension treatment in Japan in 2014. The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of using ripasudil eye drops to treat corneal endothelial injuries.

Methods: Cultured human corneal endothelial cells (HCECs) were treated with ripasudil, and 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation was evaluated by ELISA.

Rho-Associated Kinase Inhibitor Eye Drop (Ripasudil) Transiently Alters the Morphology of Corneal Endothelial Cells.

Purpose: Ripasudil (Glanatec), a selective Rho-associated coiled coil-containing protein kinase (ROCK) inhibitor, was approved in Japan in September 2014 for the treatment of glaucoma and ocular hypertension. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of ripasudil eye drops on corneal endothelial morphology, as ROCK signaling is known to modulate the actin cytoskeleton.

Methods: Morphological changes in the corneal endothelium were evaluated in human subjects by specular and slit-lamp microscopy, following topical administration of ripasudil.

Density-gradient centrifugation enables the purification of cultured corneal endothelial cells for cell therapy by eliminating senescent cells.

The corneal endothelium is essential for maintaining corneal transparency; therefore, corneal endothelial dysfunction causes serious vision loss. Tissue engineering-based therapy is potentially a less invasive and more effective therapeutic modality. We recently started a first-in-man clinical trial of cell-based therapy for treating corneal endothelial dysfunction in Japan.

Effect of the Rho Kinase Inhibitor Y-27632 on Corneal Endothelial Wound Healing.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of using Rho-associated kinase (ROCK) inhibitor eye drops for treating severe corneal endothelial damage due to surgical invasion.

Methods: A rabbit corneal endothelial damage model was created by mechanically scraping half the area of the corneal endothelium of eighteen eyes of Japanese white rabbits. A selective ROCK inhibitor, Y-27632 (10 mM), was applied topically for 2 weeks, and then the anterior segment was evaluated by slitlamp microscopy.