Abstract
Purpose:
It is known that the primary cilia of cells are present in corneal endothelium. However, the primary cilia of donor corneal endothelium disappear when preserved in corneal preservation media. This study investigated the histological change of the cilia of corneal endothelium preserved in corneal preservation media.
Methods:
This study involved corneas obtained from Japanese white rabbits. The corneas were preserved in Optisol-GS (Bausch and Lomb, Rochester, NY) corneal preservation media at 4°C for 0, 1 and 7 days. The cornea preserved for 7 days was incubated at 37°C in culture media (CnT-20; CELLnTEC Advanced Cell Systems AG, Bern, Switzerland) for 2 days. Corneal endothelia of these corneas were assessed by immunohistochemistry with Anti-Acetylated alpha Tubulin antibody and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
Results:
Immediately after isolation, long process was observed by SEM on the corneal endothelium, and it showed positive for primary cilia by Anti-Acetylated alpha Tubulin antibody. No primary cilia were observed on the corneal endothelium preserved for 1 or 7 days. After 7-days preservation, primary cilia were observed on the endothelium that underwent the 2-day incubation at 37°C.
Conclusions:
The findings of this study using rabbit corneas suggest that the primary cilia of the corneal endothelium of human donor corneas for transplantation also disappear during preserved in preservation media and reappear after transplantation, and show that the existence of primary cilia is correlated with the viability of corneal endothelium.
Keywords: 481 cornea: endothelium •
554 immunohistochemistry •
483 cornea: storage