Reconstruction of rabbit corneal epithelium using adipose and / or bone marrow stem cells

One of the main causes of corneal blindness is corneal alkali burn, which can also result in serious side effects such as limbal stem cell deficit, corneal perforation, and permanent epithelial abnormalities. This study set out to investigate the therapeutic potential of ADMSCs and BMMSCs for the reconstruction of the corneal surface after chemical alkali burn. Twelve adult rabbits were divided equally into four groups. Each rabbit in the other groups had a chemical alkali burn applied to their right eye using 6 mm-wide NaoH soaked filter paper, while the negative control group had no intervention. All groups except negative control group received topical and subconjunctival injections. Group I (Negative control) received no therapy, whereas Group II received an injection of phosphate-buffered saline as the positive control. Group III received 1 mL of ADMSCs, while Group IV received 1 mL of BMMSCs. After 4 weeks, the corneal tissue underwent morphological, histological, immunohistochemical examination and gene expression. The ocular tissue underwent histopathological examination revealed re-epithelialization and nearly normal architecture in the BMMSC-treated group. The injured cornea treated with ADMSCs showed partial repair of the anterior epithelium, in addition to inflammatory cells infiltration. An immunohistochemical analysis revealed that, compared to ADMSCs and positive control groups, the majority of the stromal cells in the cornea treated by BMMSCs exhibited robust positive expression of vimentin and Ki67. BMMSCs exhibited considerably higher levels of gene expression for corneal indicators, such as keratin 12 and connexin 43, in comparison to other groups. In treating a corneal chemical burn, this study shows that MSCs produced from bone marrow and adipose tissue effectively reduce tissue inflammation, enhance corneal tissue repair, and stimulate cell renewal, with BMMSCs showing better outcomes.