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Inflammation-suppressing cornea-in-a-syringe with anti-viral GF19 peptide promotes regeneration in HSV-1 infected rabbit corneas.

Egidijus SimoliunasInés Ruedas-TorresYolanda Jiménez GómezElle EdinMozhgan Aghajanzadeh-KiyasehMostafa Zamani-RoudbarakiRimvydas AsoklisMilda AlksneNeethi C ThathapudiBijay K PoudelIeva RinkunaiteKasparas AsoklisMonika IesmantaiteLaura Ortega-LlamasAlmantas MakselisMarcelo MunozDaiva BaltriukieneVirginija BukelskieneJaime Gómez-LagunaMiguel González-AndradesMay Griffith
Published in: NPJ Regenerative medicine (2024)
Pathophysiologic inflammation, e.g., from HSV-1 viral infection, can cause tissue destruction resulting in ulceration, perforation, and ultimately blindness. We developed an injectable Cornea-in-a-Syringe (CIS) sealant-filler to treat damaged corneas. CIS comprises linear carboxylated polymers of inflammation-suppressing 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine, regeneration-promoting collagen-like peptide, and adhesive collagen-citrate glue. We also incorporated GF19, a modified anti-viral host defense peptide that blocked HSV-1 activity in vitro when released from silica nanoparticles (SiNP-GF19). CIS alone suppressed inflammation when tested in a surgically perforated and HSV-1-infected rabbit corneal model, allowing tissue and nerve regeneration. However, at six months post-operation, only regenerated neocorneas previously treated with CIS with SiNP-GF19 had structural and functional features approaching those of normal healthy corneas and were HSV-1 virus-free. We showed that composite injectable biomaterials can be designed to allow regeneration by modulating inflammation and blocking viral activity in an infected tissue. Future iterations could be optimized for clinical application.
Keyphrases
  • oxidative stress
  • stem cells
  • herpes simplex virus
  • wound healing
  • sars cov
  • signaling pathway
  • tissue engineering
  • hyaluronic acid