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Wang X, Luan F, Yue H, Song C, Wang S, Feng J, Zhang X, Yang W, Li Y, Wei W, Tao Y. Recent advances of smart materials for ocular drug delivery. Adv Drug Deliv Rev 2023; 200:115006. [PMID: 37451500 DOI: 10.1016/j.addr.2023.115006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2023] [Revised: 07/04/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
Owing to the variety and complexity of ocular diseases and the natural ocular barriers, drug therapy for ocular diseases has significant limitations, such as poor drug targeting to the site of the disease, poor drug penetration, and short drug retention time in the vitreous body. With the development of biotechnology, biomedical materials have reached the "smart" stage. To date, despite their inability to overcome all the aforementioned drawbacks, a variety of smart materials have been widely tested to treat various ocular diseases. This review analyses the most recent developments in multiple smart materials (inorganic particles, polymeric particles, lipid-based particles, hydrogels, and devices) to treat common ocular diseases and discusses the future directions and perspectives regarding clinical translation issues. This review can help researchers rationally design more smart materials for specific ocular applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaojun Wang
- Department of Ophthalmology, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100020, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, PR China
| | - Fuxiao Luan
- Department of Ophthalmology, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100020, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, PR China
| | - Hua Yue
- State Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, PR China
| | - Cui Song
- State Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, PR China
| | - Shuang Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, PR China
| | - Jing Feng
- Department of Ophthalmology, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100020, PR China
| | - Xiao Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, PR China
| | - Wei Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, PR China
| | - Yuxin Li
- Department of Ophthalmology, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100020, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, PR China
| | - Wei Wei
- State Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, PR China.
| | - Yong Tao
- Department of Ophthalmology, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100020, PR China.
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Tissue Engineered Mini-Cornea Model for Eye Irritation Test. Tissue Eng Regen Med 2022; 20:213-223. [PMID: 36502465 PMCID: PMC10070571 DOI: 10.1007/s13770-022-00504-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2022] [Revised: 10/11/2022] [Accepted: 10/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Eye irritation tests with animals have been conducted for a long time. However, the subjective decision to irritation, the anatomic/physiologic difference between species and humans, and ethical issues are crucial problems. Various research groups have paid attention to alternative testing methods. In these senses, we fabricated in vitro mini-cornea models with immortalized human corneal epithelial cells (iHCECs) and keratocytes (iHCKs) and used them for irritation tests. This study hypothesized that our mini-cornea model could present different viability tendencies according to test chemicals with different irritancy levels. METHODS Cells used in this study were characterized with cornea-specific markers by immunocytochemistry and western blot. To make a three-dimensional hemisphere construct like cornea stroma, we cultured iHCKs under modified culture conditions verified by matrix formation and total collagen content. iHCECs were seeded on the construct and cultured at an air-liquid interface. The model was treated with 2-phenoxyethanol, triton X-100, sodium lauryl sulfate, and benzalkonium chloride. RESULTS iHCECs and iHCKs presented their specific cell markers. In modifying the culture condition, the group treating ascorbic acid (200 µg/ml) presented an intact cellular matrix and included the highest collagen content; thus, we used this condition to fabricate the mini-cornea model. The model shows hemisphere shape and homogenous cell distributions in histological analysis. We observed different sensitivity tendencies by types of chemicals, and the model's viability significantly decreased when the chemical concentration increased. CONCLUSION In this study, we performed and observed irritation tests using a tissue-engineered mini-cornea model and considered to apply as an alternative approach for animal tests.
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Non-canonical Wnt signaling in the eye. Prog Retin Eye Res 2022:101149. [DOI: 10.1016/j.preteyeres.2022.101149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2022] [Revised: 11/12/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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SOX2 Is a Univocal Marker for Human Oral Mucosa Epithelium Useful in Post-COMET Patient Characterization. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23105785. [PMID: 35628593 PMCID: PMC9144017 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23105785] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2022] [Revised: 05/17/2022] [Accepted: 05/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Total bilateral Limbal Stem Cells Deficiency is a pathologic condition of the ocular surface due to loss or impairment of corneal stem cell function, altering homeostasis of the corneal epithelium. Cultivated Oral Mucosa Epithelial Transplantation (COMET) is the only autologous treatment for this pathology. During the follow-up, a proper characterization of the transplanted oral mucosa on the ocular surface supports understanding the regenerative process. The previously proposed markers for oral mucosa identification (e.g., keratins 3 and 13) are co-expressed by corneal and conjunctival epithelia. Here, we propose a new specific marker to distinguish human oral mucosa from the epithelia of the ocular surface. We compared the transcriptome of holoclones (stem cells) from the human oral mucosa, limbal and conjunctival cultures by microarray assay. High expression of SOX2 identified the oral mucosa vs. cornea and conjunctiva, while PAX6 was highly expressed in corneal and conjunctival epithelia. The transcripts were validated by qPCR, and immunological methods identified the related proteins. Finally, the proposed markers were used to analyze a 10-year follow-up aniridic patient treated by COMET. These findings will support the follow-up analysis of COMET treated patients and help to shed light on the mechanism of corneal repair and regeneration.
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Dysfunction of the limbal epithelial stem cell niche in aniridia-associated keratopathy. Ocul Surf 2021; 21:160-173. [PMID: 34102310 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtos.2021.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2021] [Revised: 04/22/2021] [Accepted: 06/01/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Abnormalities in the limbal niche microenvironment have been suggested to be causally involved in aniridia-associated keratopathy (AAK), but histological analyses on the limbal structure and composition in AAK are lacking. Here, we investigated morphologic and molecular alterations of the limbal epithelial stem cell niche in human congenital aniridia. METHODS The blind, buphthalmic and painful left eye of a 16-year old girl with congenital aniridia and juvenile glaucoma had to be enucleated because of uncontrolled intraocular pressure. The diagnosis of AAK was based on classical clinical features and partial limbal stem cell deficiency in the superior half. Genetic analysis identified a large heterozygous PAX6 gene deletion encompassing exons 11-15 as well as exon 9 of the neighboring ELP4 gene. Three limbal biopsies were taken from the superior, nasal and temporal regions to isolate and cultivate limbal epithelial progenitor cells and subject them to mRNA expression analyses. The globe was vertically bisected and processed for light and transmission electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry. RESULTS Comparative analysis of the superior and inferior limbal zones showed a gradual degradation of palisade structures associated with the transition from a hyperplastic to an attenuated corneal epithelium, inflammatory cell infiltrations and basement membrane irregularities. The clinically unaffected inferior part revealed no distinct stem cell clusters in the preserved palisade region, but a uniform population of hyperproliferative, undifferentiated progenitor cells in the basal/suprabasal layers of limbal and corneal epithelia, which gave rise to maldifferentiated epithelial cells exhibiting a conjunctival/epidermal phenotype and nuclear-to-cytoplasmic translocation of Pax6. The structure of the limbal niche was fundamentally perturbed, showing marked alterations in extracellular matrix composition, dislocation of atypical melanocytes lacking melanosomes and melanin, aberrant Wnt/β-catenin and retinoic acid signaling, and massive immune cell infiltration. CONCLUSIONS Considering the limitations of a single Case study, the findings suggest that ocular surface alterations in AAK are caused by a primary dysfunction and gradual breakdown of the limbal stem cell niche through Pax6-related effects on both melanogenesis and epithelial differentiation.
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Vicente A, Byström B, Lindström M, Stenevi U, Pedrosa Domellöf F. Aniridia-related keratopathy: Structural changes in naïve and transplanted corneal buttons. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0198822. [PMID: 29889891 PMCID: PMC5995400 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0198822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2018] [Accepted: 05/26/2018] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Background To study structural changes in naïve and surgically treated corneas of aniridia patients with advanced aniridia-related keratopathy (ARK). Methods and findings Two naïve corneal buttons from patients with advanced ARK submitted to penetrating keratoplasty for the first time, one corneal button from an ARK patient that had undergone a keratolimbal allograft (KLAL), two corneal buttons from ARK patients who had previously undergone centered or decentered transplantation and were now retransplanted and two adult healthy donor control corneas were processed for immunohistochemistry. Antibodies against extracellular matrix components in the stroma and in the epithelial basement membrane (collagen I and IV, collagen receptor α11 integrin and laminin α3 chain), markers of fibrosis, wound healing and vascularization (fibronectin, tenascin-C, vimentin, α-SMA and caveolin-1), cell division (Ki-67) and macrophages (CD68) were used. Naïve ARK, KLAL ARK corneas and transplanted corneal buttons presented similar histopathological changes with irregular epithelium and disruption or absence of epithelial basal membrane. There was a loss of the orderly pattern of collagen lamellae and absence of collagen I in all ARK corneas. Vascularization was revealed by the presence of caveolin-1 and collagen IV in the pannus of all ARK aniridia corneas. The changes observed in decentered and centered transplants were analogous. Conclusions Given the similar pathological features of all cases, conditions inherent to the host seem to play an important role on the pathophysiology of the ARK in the long run.
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Affiliation(s)
- André Vicente
- Department of Clinical Science, Ophthalmology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Berit Byström
- Department of Clinical Science, Ophthalmology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Mona Lindström
- Department of Integrative Medical Biology, Section for Anatomy, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Ulf Stenevi
- Department of Ophthalmology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Fátima Pedrosa Domellöf
- Department of Clinical Science, Ophthalmology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Department of Integrative Medical Biology, Section for Anatomy, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- * E-mail:
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RNA-Seq analysis and comparison of corneal epithelium in keratoconus and myopia patients. Sci Rep 2018; 8:389. [PMID: 29321650 PMCID: PMC5762683 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-18480-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2017] [Accepted: 12/12/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Keratoconus is a common degenerative corneal disease that can lead to significant visual morbidity, and both genetic and environmental factors have been implicated in its pathogenesis. We compared the transcriptome of keratoconus and control epithelium using RNA-Seq. Epithelial tissues were obtained prior to surgery from keratoconus and myopia control patients, undergoing collagen cross-linking and photorefractive keratectomy, respectively. We identified major differences in keratoconus linked to cell-cell communication, cell signalling and cellular metabolism. The genes associated with the Hedgehog, Wnt and Notch1 signaling pathways were down-regulated in keratoconus. We also identified plasmolipin and Notch1 as being significantly reduced in keratoconus for both gene and protein expression (p < 0.05). Plasmolipin is a novel protein identified in human corneal epithelium, and has been demonstrated to have a key role in epithelial cell differentiation in other tissues. This study shows altered gene and protein expression of these three proteins in keratoconus, and further studies are clearly warranted to confirm the functional role of these proteins in the pathogenesis of keratoconus.
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