Abstract
Purpose :
Strategies to address corneal surface defects are currently insufficient to successfully resolve damage caused by injury and/or disease. To address this issue, we have developed an ocular wound chamber (OWC) that creates a fluid-filled environment by encompassing damaged ocular and periocular tissues allowing for the continuous delivery of therapeutics. The aim of this study was to test human platelet lysate (hPL) as a therapeutic for corneal epithelial defects when used with the OWC.
Methods :
Corneal epithelial injuries were created in anesthetized hairless female guinea pigs (Crl:HA-Hrhr) by demarcating the central cornea of the left eye with a 4 mm punch biopsy followed by debriding the corneal epithelium using a corneal rust ring remover. Eyes were irrigated with sterile balanced salt solution (BSS), an OWC placed over the injured eye, and animals randomly grouped followed by injection of either 20% hPL, 100% hPL, or BSS alone (N=5/group) into the chamber. Injured eyes were assessed at 0, 24, 48, and 72h post chamber placement using intraocular pressure (IOP), optical coherence tomography (OCT), and fluorescein imaging for epithelial wound closure. Post humane euthanasia, whole globes were histologically processed and stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and Masson’s trichrome (MTS).
Results :
No statistically significant differences in IOP were recorded as a result of corneal wounding, chamber placement, and/or therapeutic application. OCT images of injured eyes demonstrated increased corneal swelling at 48 (P=0.031) and 72h (P=0.006) post injury in the BSS group compared to 20% hPL. Fluorescein imaging of injured corneas showed increased wound closure in the 20% hPL group (87%) at 24h compared to 100% hPL (78%; P=0.0004) and BSS groups (71%; P<0.0001). By 48h, 20% and 100% hPL animals exhibited increased corneal re-epithelialization (100%, P<0.0001; 95%, P=0.0126) compared to BSS treated animals eyes (88%). H&E and MTS staining revealed cellular infiltrate in the stroma of all groups.
Conclusions :
Results from this study demonstrate that the use of hPL in our OWC improves corneal re-epithelialization compared to BSS alone. This study supports the expanded usage of the OWC in combination with human platelet lysate and other candidate therapies as a novel treatment modality to manage a variety of corneal surface injuries, diseases and/or periocular conditions.
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.