Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose:To examine the viability of using cultivated oral epithelial cells as a substitute for cultivated corneal epithelial cells and to transplant these cultivated epithelial cells of oral origin onto severely injured rabbit eyes. Methods:An ocular-surface injury was created in one eye of each of the 8 adult white rabbits by excising all the corneal superficial stroma and conjunctival tissue within 5 mm of the limbus. At 3-4 weeks after the ocular surface injury, the conjunctivalized corneal surfaces of the eight rabbits used in this experiment were surgically reconstructed by transplanting autologous oral epithelial cells cultivated on amniotic membrane. Results:After the removal of conjunctivalized tissue from the cornea, we reconstructed the corneal surface with cultivated epithelial cells of oral origin. In the early stages (day 2) after transplantation, the 8 eyes that had received the 12 mm diameter discs of AM containing autologous cultivated oral epithelial cells, all possessed a transplanted epithelialial cells. At 10 days after transplantation, the area covered by epithelium had expanded outward and was partially in contact with the migrating conjunctival epithelium. Conclusion:The corneal surfaces of all eyes were transparent, and the entire corneal surfaces were perfectly covered with transplanted autologous epithelium of oral origin, indicating that autologous transplantation of cultivated oral epithelium is a feasible method for ocular surface reconstruction.
Keywords: 369 cornea: clinical science • 372 cornea: epithelium • 607 transplantation