Transplantation of the allogeneic conjunctiva and conjunctival extracellular matrix

To investigate the characteristics and effects of allogenic conjunctiva and conjunctival extracellular matrix (ECM) as the substitute of conjunctival tissues.

The symptoms of the frequently-occurring conjunctival injury not only make people ugly, but also lead to blindness, which seriously endanger the quality of life of the patients.

The bulbar conjunctivas of 6 out of 30 rabbits were prepared into a conjunctival defect model, and the remaining rabbits were randomly divided into 2 groups (n = 12). The conjunctivas of the trial group were repaired by transplanting conjunctival ECM prepared by tissue engineering technology, and the control group received fresh conjunctival allograft. Thereafter, the postoperative conjunctival reconstruction was observed. Their conjunctivas were examined by naked eye, microscope, immunohistochemical and lymphocyte toxicity tests.

Blood vessels of the trial group began to grow into the graft after one week, and the conjunctivas appeared almost normal without immune rejection after 8 weeks. The transplanted conjunctival epitheliums were observed to recover after 4 weeks under light microscope. A large number of invasive inflammatory cells were found in the grafts of the control group 2 weeks after surgery.

Conjunctival ECM is an ideal substitute for conjunctiva, which can be used for the effective surface reconstruction of cornea and conjunctiva (Fig. 7, Ref. 21).