Title:
Regenerative Therapy for Cornea
Takahiro Nakamura
1 Research Center for Inflammation and Regenerative Medicine, Doshisha University
2 Department of Ophthalmology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine , Graduate School of Medicine
Abstract:
Cornea is an avascular, transparent structure consisting primarily of 3 layers, the corneal epithelium, stroma, and endothelium. In cases of corneal epithelial stem cell deficienc y, c orneal epithelial replacement using a tissue engineering technique holds much promise for ocular surface reconstruction. Autologous cultivated corneal epithelial stem cell sheets are the safest and most reliable forms of sheet we can use for such treatment, however, they are not useful for treating bilaterally affected ocular surface disorders. In order to treat these bilateral cases, we must choose either an allogeneic cultivated corneal epithelial sheet or an autologous cultivated oral mucosal epithelial sheet. In the case of the former , the threat of immunological reaction must be dealt with. Therefore, it is imperative that we have a basic understanding of the immunological aspects of ocular surface reconstruction using allogeneic tissues. In the case of the latter, a basic understanding of ocular surface epithelial biology is required as the sheet is not exactly the same as corneal epithelium. The studies on regeneration of the corneal stroma and corneal endothelium are in progress all over the world.
