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Pizzuto S, Duffey G, Weant J, Eveleth D. Acceleration of Regeneration of the Corneal Endothelial Layer After Descemet Stripping Induced by the Engineered FGF TTHX1114 in Human Corneas in Organ Culture. Cornea 2023; 42:232-242. [PMID: 35942526 PMCID: PMC9797199 DOI: 10.1097/ico.0000000000003098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2022] [Revised: 05/07/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Descemet stripping only (DSO, descemetorhexis without endothelial keratoplasty) is increasing in clinical use but can impose long recovery times. The objective of this research was to determine whether TTHX1114, an engineered analog of FGF1, could accelerate healing in corneas after DSO. METHODS Corneas obtained from eye banks were placed into suspension culture and subjected to DSO with a procedure comparable with that used clinically. The healing of the stripped area and the regeneration of the corneal endothelial cell (CEC) layer were evaluated intermittently for 14 days using trypan blue staining, alizarin red staining, and immunohistochemistry. RESULTS Corneas subjected to DSO showed about 30% of the stripped area healed after 14 days in culture while those treated with TTHX1114 healed 81%. The healed area was similar in both normal corneas and corneas judged by the eye banks to be dystrophic. The regeneration of the endothelial layer in the stripped area was substantially more complete in TTHX1114-treated corneas, most of which demonstrated a contiguous monolayer of CECs expressing ZO-1 at the cell-cell junctions. In corneas not subject to DSO, incorporation of EdU, a marker of proliferation, was stimulated by TTHX1114 treatment. CONCLUSIONS The corneal organ culture model recapitulated clinical observations of DSO, only with much more rapid recovery. Within the immediate postsurgical time frame of 2 weeks, treatment with TTHX1114 stimulated near-total regeneration of the CEC layer, suggesting that TTHX1114 may be useful as an adjunct to DSO.
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Pizzuto S, Duffey G, Weant J, Eveleth D. A Human Corneal Organ Culture Model of Descemet's Stripping Only with Accelerated Healing Stimulated by Engineered Fibroblast Growth Factor 1. J Vis Exp 2022. [DOI: 10.3791/63482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2022] Open
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Weant J, Eveleth DD, Subramaniam A, Jenkins-Eveleth J, Blaber M, Li L, Ornitz DM, Alimardanov A, Broadt T, Dong H, Vyas V, Yang X, Bradshaw RA. Regenerative responses of rabbit corneal endothelial cells to stimulation by fibroblast growth factor 1 (FGF1) derivatives, TTHX1001 and TTHX1114. Growth Factors 2021; 39:14-27. [PMID: 34879776 DOI: 10.1080/08977194.2021.2012468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Utilising rabbit corneal endothelial cells (CEC) in three different paradigms, two human FGF1 derivatives (TTHX1001 and TTHX1114), engineered to exhibit greater stability, were tested as proliferative agents. Primary CECs and mouse NIH 3T3 cells treated with the two FGF1 derivatives showed equivalent EC50 ranges (3.3-24 vs.1.9-16. ng/mL) and, in organ culture, chemically lesioned corneas regained half of the lost endothelial layer in three days after treatment with the FGF1 derivatives as compared to controls. In vivo, following cryolesioning, the CEC monolayer, as judged by specular microscopy, regenerated 10-11 days faster when treated with TTHX1001. Over two weeks, all treated eyes showed clearing of opacity about twice that of untreated controls. In all three rabbit models, both FGF1 derivatives were effective in inducing CEC proliferation over control conditions, supporting the prediction that these stabilised FGF1 derivatives can potentially regenerate corneal endothelial deficits in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Michael Blaber
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Florida State University, Tallahassee, USA
| | - Ling Li
- Department of Developmental Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - David M Ornitz
- Department of Developmental Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Asaf Alimardanov
- Therapeutics Development Branch, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, USA
| | - Trevor Broadt
- Biopharmaceutical Development Program, Advanced Technology Research Facility, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNLCR), Leidos Biomedical Research Inc, Frederick, MD, USA
| | - Hui Dong
- Biopharmaceutical Development Program, Advanced Technology Research Facility, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNLCR), Leidos Biomedical Research Inc, Frederick, MD, USA
| | - Vinay Vyas
- Biopharmaceutical Development Program, Advanced Technology Research Facility, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNLCR), Leidos Biomedical Research Inc, Frederick, MD, USA
| | - Xiaoyi Yang
- Biopharmaceutical Development Program, Advanced Technology Research Facility, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNLCR), Leidos Biomedical Research Inc, Frederick, MD, USA
| | - Ralph A Bradshaw
- Trefoil Therapeutics, Inc, San Diego, CA, USA
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
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Eveleth D, Pizzuto S, Weant J, Jenkins-Eveleth J, Bradshaw RA. Proliferation of Human Corneal Endothelia in Organ Culture Stimulated by Wounding and the Engineered Human Fibroblast Growth Factor 1 Derivative TTHX1114. J Ocul Pharmacol Ther 2020; 36:686-696. [PMID: 32735473 PMCID: PMC7703086 DOI: 10.1089/jop.2019.0119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose: Corneal endothelial dystrophies are characterized by endothelial cell loss and dysfunction. Recent evidence suggests that corneal endothelial cells (CECs) can regenerate although they do not do so under normal conditions. This work sought to test whether CECs can be stimulated to proliferate in organ culture by wounding and/or by treatment with the engineered human fibroblast growth factor 1 (FGF1) derivative TTHX1114. Methods: Human donor corneas obtained from eye banks were maintained in organ culture in the presence or absence of TTHX1114. Wounds in the corneas were created by quartering the corneas. The CEC monolayer was identified as a regular layer by Hoechst staining of the nuclear DNA with cell outlines delineated by immunohistochemical identification of ZO-1. Nuclei and nuclei incorporating 5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine (EdU) were counted using ImageJ. Results: CECs in normal corneas in undisturbed monolayers had low, but measurable, rates of proliferation. CECs at the edge of a wound had higher rates of proliferation, probably due to the release of contact inhibition. TTHX1114 increased proliferation at wound edges. After 7 days of culture, proliferating CECs formed contiguous groups of labeled cells that did not migrate away from one another. TTHX1114-treated cells, including the EdU labeled proliferating cells, retained normal morphology, including cell/cell junction ZO-1 staining. Conclusions: Proliferation of CECs in organ-cultured corneas is low, but can be stimulated by wounding or by the administration of TTHX1114 with the effects of each being additive. The CEC monolayer appears to have a population of progenitor cells that are susceptible to stimulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Eveleth
- Trefoil Therapeutics, Inc., San Diego, California, USA
| | - Sarah Pizzuto
- Trefoil Therapeutics, Inc., San Diego, California, USA
| | - Jessica Weant
- Trefoil Therapeutics, Inc., San Diego, California, USA
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