Corneal epithelial cell bandage to treat persistent epithelial defect

角膜上皮细胞绷带治疗持续性上皮缺损

• 批准号: MR/Y019385/1
• 负责人: Hannah Levis
• 金额: $ 225.79万
• 依托单位: University of Liverpool
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2024 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=MR%2FY019385%2F1
• 关键词: Corneal; epithelial; cell; bandage; treat

Corneal would healing is essential to maintain the integrity of the cornea. In a healthy eye, after an insult to the ocular surface, the epithelial defect is repaired by a complex re-epithelialisation process. Healing may be delayed or halted in compromised conditions leaving the underlying stroma vulnerable to further trauma, infiltrates, infection, scarring and perforation. A persistent epithelial defect is defined as a defect that is not resolved after 2 weeks of standard treatment. There are risk factors that confound corneal epithelial wound healing including diabetic keratopathy, limbal stem cell deficiency, dry eye disease, neurotrophic keratopathy and herpetic infection to name a few. The current treatments for persistent epithelial defect can include lubricating eye drops, punctal occlusion to provide a more lubricious environment, bandage contact lenses, serum, tarsorrhaphy or amniotic membrane transplant. Standard treatments tend to be ineffective, prolonging patient discomfort and diminished visual acuity. Due to the complex nature of the disease, patients must be examined multiple times a week, with some patients requiring up to 90 visits a year. The economic impact of this on health systems is substantial. We are developing an alternative treatment that involves transfer of corneal epithelial cells to the ocular surface directly via a soft contact lens. Our 'cell bandage' will enable rapid healing of the wound by the transplanted cells with the additional benefit provided by the contact lens element of the therapy of the protection from shearing forces that occur when blinking. We have proof of principle that the cell bandage functions to heal wounds in vitro but we need to test its effectiveness in a model using human eyes in the lab and its safety in a whole animal model. If the cell bandage provides favourable results we will continue to develop the product working with cell therapy manufacturers to determine a production method suitable for use in patients.

角膜愈合对于维持角膜的完整性是必不可少的。在健康的眼睛中，在眼睛表面受到侮辱后，上皮性缺陷通过复杂的再上皮化过程得到修复。在受损的情况下，愈合可能会延迟或停止，使潜在的间质容易受到进一步的创伤、渗透、感染、疤痕和穿孔。持续性上皮缺陷定义为标准治疗2周后仍不能解决的缺陷。影响角膜上皮伤口愈合的危险因素包括糖尿病角膜病变、角膜缘干细胞缺乏、干眼病、神经营养性角膜病变和疱疹感染等。目前治疗永久性上皮缺陷的方法包括使用润滑剂滴眼液、点状遮盖以提供更光滑的环境、绷带隐形眼镜、血清、眼睑修补或羊膜移植。标准的治疗往往是无效的，延长了患者的不适，降低了视力。由于疾病的复杂性，患者必须每周接受多次检查，有些患者一年需要就诊多达90次。这对卫生系统的经济影响是巨大的。我们正在开发一种替代疗法，包括通过软性隐形眼镜将角膜上皮细胞直接转移到眼表。我们的“细胞绷带”将使移植的细胞能够快速愈合伤口，并通过隐形眼镜元素提供额外的好处，保护眼睛免受眨眼时发生的剪切力的影响。我们已经有了细胞绷带在体外愈合伤口的原理证据，但我们需要在实验室用人眼的模型中测试它的有效性，并在整个动物模型中测试它的安全性。如果细胞绷带提供了有利的结果，我们将继续开发该产品，与细胞治疗制造商合作，以确定适合患者使用的生产方法。