May 2008
Volume 49, Issue 13
Free
ARVO Annual Meeting Abstract  |   May 2008
Lymphatic Vessels Determine the High-Risk Status of Vascularized Recipient Corneas
Author Affiliations & Notes
  • F. Bock
    Augenklinik Erlangen, IZKF, Erlangen, Germany
  • D. Hos
    Augenklinik Erlangen, IZKF, Erlangen, Germany
  • T. Dietrich
    Augenklinik Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
  • J. Onderka
    Augenklinik Erlangen, IZKF, Erlangen, Germany
  • B. Bachmann
    Augenklinik Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
  • F. E. Kruse
    Augenklinik Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
  • S. J. Wiegand
    Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., Tarrytown, New York
  • C. Cursiefen
    Augenklinik Erlangen, IZKF, Erlangen, Germany
  • Footnotes
    Commercial Relationships  F. Bock, None; D. Hos, None; T. Dietrich, None; J. Onderka, None; B. Bachmann, None; F.E. Kruse, None; S.J. Wiegand, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., E; C. Cursiefen, None.
  • Footnotes
    Support  Interdisciplinary Center for Clinical Research (IZKF) Erlangen (A9)
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science May 2008, Vol.49, 1484. doi:
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    • Get Citation

      F. Bock, D. Hos, T. Dietrich, J. Onderka, B. Bachmann, F. E. Kruse, S. J. Wiegand, C. Cursiefen; Lymphatic Vessels Determine the High-Risk Status of Vascularized Recipient Corneas. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2008;49(13):1484.

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      © ARVO (1962-2015); The Authors (2016-present)

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Abstract

Purpose: : High-risk keratoplasties are defined by a prevascularized recipient cornea which increases the rate of graft rejection triggered by an immune response. Aim of this work was to analyze the relative importance of pathologic pre-existing lymphatic vessels, the afferent arm of the immune response arc, versus pre-existing blood vessels ("efferent arm") during engraftment of corneal transplants.

Methods: : The murine model of high-risk keratoplasty was used by placing three interrupted 11-0 sutures into the corneal stroma of BALB/c mice and leaving them in place for 2 weeks. Mice in the treatment groups received either VEGF TrapR1R2 (25 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) as an inhibitor of both hem- and lymphangiogenesis (thus creating "avascular high-risk beds") or the blocking VEGFR3 antibody F4-31C1 (25 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) as a specific inhibitor of lymphangiogenesis (thus creating "alymphatic, but hemvascularized high-risk recipient beds") on the day of suture placement as well as 3, 5 and 7 days later. After two weeks sutures were removed and penetrating keratoplasty was performed with C57BL/6 donors (all mice female). Postoperative survival of the grafts was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier survival curves.

Results: : The survival of the grafts after high-risk keratoplasty was improved significantly by pretreatment with both the VEGF Trap R1R2 (p< 0.0001) and the VEGFR3 antibody (p< 0.0002) in the vascularisation phase prior to keratoplasty in comparison to the control groups.

Conclusions: : Both blood and lymphatic vessels play a crucial role in defining a high-risk bed prior to keratoplasty. Since there was no significant difference between "avascular" and only "hemvascularized" high-risk beds we suggest pre-existing lymphatic vessels to play a more important role in determining the fate of a graft after high-risk keratoplasty. Therapeutically, blockade of lymphatic vessels prior to keratoplasty therefore could improve graft survival after subsequent corneal transplantation.

Keywords: cornea: clinical science • inflammation • transplantation 
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