A physical biomarker of the quality of cultured corneal endothelial cells and of the long-term prognosis of corneal restoration in patients.
Akihisa YamamotoHiroshi TanakaMunetoyo TodaChie SotozonoJunji HamuroShigeru KinoshitaMorio UenoMotomu TanakaPublished in: Nature biomedical engineering (2019)
Dysfunction of the corneal endothelium reduces the transparency of the cornea and can cause blindness. Because corneal endothelial cells have an extremely limited proliferative ability in vivo, treatment for corneal endothelial dysfunction involves the transplantation of donor corneal tissue. Corneal endothelium can also be restored via intraocular injection of endothelial cells in suspension after their expansion in vitro. Yet, because quality assessment during the expansion of the cells is a destructive process, a substantial number of the cultured cells are lost. Here, we show that the 'spring constant' of the effective interaction potential between endothelial cells in a confluent monolayer serves as a biomarker of the quality of corneal endothelial cells in vitro and of the long-term prognosis of corneal restoration in patients treated with culture-expanded endothelial cells or with transplanted corneas. The biomarker can be measured from phase contrast imaging in vitro and from specular microscopy in vivo, and may enable a shift from passive monitoring to pre-emptive intervention in patients with severe corneal disorders.
Keyphrases
- endothelial cells
- optical coherence tomography
- wound healing
- cataract surgery
- vascular endothelial growth factor
- high resolution
- randomized controlled trial
- nitric oxide
- induced apoptosis
- mental health
- physical activity
- magnetic resonance
- quality improvement
- ejection fraction
- cell proliferation
- computed tomography
- prognostic factors
- single molecule
- magnetic resonance imaging
- signaling pathway
- cell therapy
- smoking cessation
- mass spectrometry
- patient reported
- patient reported outcomes
- contrast enhanced
- ultrasound guided