Abstract
Purpose :
The aim of this study was to assess the safety of antifungal Amphotericin B as a supplement in corneal storage media(Optisol-GS®) for human corneal endothelial cells.
Methods :
Five pairs of human corneas from 5 donors were divided into two groups. In the control group(C group), one corneal button of the pair was stored in Optisol-GS® for 7 days. In the treatment group(A group), its counterpart was preserved in in Optisol-GS® mixed with 40ug/10mL Amphotericin B 7 days after preservation. We compared endothelial cell counts before and after preservation in each group. We evaluated the mean changes of endothelial cell counts via specular microscopy between the 2 groups before and after 7 days of preservation. In addition, we assessed endothelial cell viability using Live/Dead assay kit (Calcein AM and ethidium homodimer) under scanning confocal microscopy(Carl Zeiss ®, LSM 800 with Airyscan).
Results :
Before preservation, the endothelial cell count was not different between two groups (p>0.05). The endothelial cell count before and after preservation did not statistically differ in each group(C group p=0.916, A group p=0.557). Before and after 7 days of preservation, the mean endothelial cell counts did not differ between two groups (before preservation ; p=0.690, after preservation; p=0.833). After 7 days of preservation, corneal endothelial death rate between 2 groups was not statistically significant in live/dead assay(p=0.0601).
Conclusions :
Antifungal fortified Optisol-GS may significantly improve incidence of endopthalmitis of fungal origin after penetrating keratoplasty. This study found preservation in Optisol-GS mixed with Amphotericin B (4ug/mL) did not induce statistically significant toxicity on the endothelial cells in human cadaver corneas, when compared with the control group.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.