Polysaccharide Hydrogel Combined with Mesenchymal Stem Cells Promotes the Healing of Corneal Alkali Burn in Rats

Overview

Journal PLoS One

Specialties General Medicine
Science

Date 2015 Mar 20

PMID 25789487

Citations 29

Authors

Yifeng Ke

Yixiang Wu

Xuan Cui

Xun Liu

Min Yu

Chunbo Yang

Xiaorong Li

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Corneal chemical burns are common ophthalmic injuries that may result in permanent visual impairment. Although significant advances have been achieved on the treatment of such cases, the structural and functional restoration of a chemical burn-injured cornea remains challenging. The applications of polysaccharide hydrogel and subconjunctival injection of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been reported to promote the healing of corneal wounds. In this study, polysaccharide was extracted from Hardy Orchid and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were derived from Sprague-Dawley rats. Supplementation of the polysaccharide significantly enhanced the migration rate of primarily cultured rat corneal epithelial cells. We examined the therapeutic effects of polysaccharide in conjunction with MSCs application on the healing of corneal alkali burns in rats. Compared with either treatment alone, the combination strategy resulted in significantly better recovery of corneal epithelium and reduction in inflammation, neovascularization and opacity of healed cornea. Polysaccharide and MSCs acted additively to increase the expression of anti-inflammatory cytokine (TGF-β), antiangiogenic cytokine (TSP-1) and decrease those promoting inflammation (TNF-α), chemotaxis (MIP-1α and MCP-1) and angiogenesis (VEGF and MMP-2). This study provided evidence that Hardy Orchid derived polysaccharide and MSCs are safe and effective treatments for corneal alkali burns and that their benefits are additive when used in combination. We concluded that combination therapy with polysaccharide and MSCs is a promising clinical treatment for corneal alkali burns and may be applicable for other types of corneal disorder.

Citing Articles

Biomedical Application of MSCs in Corneal Regeneration and Repair.

De Miguel M, Cadenas-Martin M, Stokking M, Martin-Gonzalez A Int J Mol Sci. 2025; 26(2).

PMID: 39859409 PMC: 11766311. DOI: 10.3390/ijms26020695.

Progress in Nanotechnology for Treating Ocular Surface Chemical Injuries: Reflecting on Advances in Ophthalmology.

Qi Q, Su D, Zhuang S, Yao S, Heindl L, Fan X Adv Sci (Weinh). 2025; 12(6):e2407340.

PMID: 39755928 PMC: 11809354. DOI: 10.1002/advs.202407340.

Effect of Subconjunctival Injection of Canine Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells on Canine Spontaneous Corneal Epithelial Defects.

Kengkla P, Panyasing Y, Thayananuphat A, Tuntivanich N Animals (Basel). 2024; 14(22).

PMID: 39595323 PMC: 11591453. DOI: 10.3390/ani14223270.

Unlocking the versatile potential: Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells in ocular surface reconstruction and oculoplastics.

Surico P, Scarabosio A, Miotti G, Grando M, Salati C, Parodi P World J Stem Cells. 2024; 16(2):89-101.

PMID: 38455097 PMC: 10915950. DOI: 10.4252/wjsc.v16.i2.89.

Advancements in Ocular Regenerative Therapies.

Tomczak W, Winkler-Lach W, Tomczyk-Socha M, Misiuk-Hojlo M Biology (Basel). 2023; 12(5).

PMID: 37237549 PMC: 10215726. DOI: 10.3390/biology12050737.

References

Yang G, Espandar L, Mamalis N, Prestwich G . A cross-linked hyaluronan gel accelerates healing of corneal epithelial abrasion and alkali burn injuries in rabbits. Vet Ophthalmol. 2010; 13(3):144-50. DOI: 10.1111/j.1463-5224.2010.00771.x. View

Blackmore S . The use of contact lenses in the treatment of persistent epithelial defects. Cont Lens Anterior Eye. 2010; 33(5):239-44. DOI: 10.1016/j.clae.2010.06.004. View

Yao L, Li Z, Su W, Li Y, Lin M, Zhang W . Role of mesenchymal stem cells on cornea wound healing induced by acute alkali burn. PLoS One. 2012; 7(2):e30842. PMC: 3281878. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0030842. View

Zhou L, Isenberg J, Cao Z, Roberts D . Type I collagen is a molecular target for inhibition of angiogenesis by endogenous thrombospondin-1. Oncogene. 2005; 25(4):536-45. DOI: 10.1038/sj.onc.1209069. View

Adamis A, Aiello L, DAmato R . Angiogenesis and ophthalmic disease. Angiogenesis. 2003; 3(1):9-14. DOI: 10.1023/a:1009071601454. View

Daniels J, Harris A, Mason C . Corneal epithelial stem cells in health and disease. Stem Cell Rev. 2007; 2(3):247-54. DOI: 10.1007/s12015-006-0053-4. View

Nakamura M, Mishima H, Nishida T, Otori T . Binding of hyaluronan to plasma fibronectin increases the attachment of corneal epithelial cells to a fibronectin matrix. J Cell Physiol. 1994; 159(3):415-22. DOI: 10.1002/jcp.1041590305. View

Sener E, Yuksel N, Yildiz D, Yilmaz B, Ozdemir O, Caglar Y . The impact of subconjuctivally injected EGF and VEGF inhibitors on experimental corneal neovascularization in rat model. Curr Eye Res. 2011; 36(11):1005-13. DOI: 10.3109/02713683.2011.601840. View

ANSETH A, Laurent T . Polysaccharides in normal and pathologic corneas. Invest Ophthalmol. 1962; 1:195-201. View

10.

Luo Y, Diao H, Xia S, Dong L, Chen J, Zhang J . A physiologically active polysaccharide hydrogel promotes wound healing. J Biomed Mater Res A. 2010; 94(1):193-204. DOI: 10.1002/jbm.a.32711. View

11.

Maggini J, Mirkin G, Bognanni I, Holmberg J, Piazzon I, Nepomnaschy I . Mouse bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells turn activated macrophages into a regulatory-like profile. PLoS One. 2010; 5(2):e9252. PMC: 2821929. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0009252. View

12.

Fish R, Davidson R . Management of ocular thermal and chemical injuries, including amniotic membrane therapy. Curr Opin Ophthalmol. 2010; 21(4):317-21. DOI: 10.1097/ICU.0b013e32833a8da2. View

13.

Sun L, Chen L, Lin Z, Qin Y, Zhang J, Yang J . Effects of Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharides on IEC-6 cell proliferation, migration and morphology of differentiation benefiting intestinal epithelium healing in vitro. J Pharm Pharmacol. 2011; 63(12):1595-603. DOI: 10.1111/j.2042-7158.2011.01367.x. View

14.

Coura C, de Araujo I, Vanderlei E, Rodrigues J, Quindere A, Fontes B . Antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities of sulphated polysaccharides from the red seaweed Gracilaria cornea. Basic Clin Pharmacol Toxicol. 2011; 110(4):335-41. DOI: 10.1111/j.1742-7843.2011.00811.x. View

15.

Stevenson W, Cheng S, Dastjerdi M, Ferrari G, Dana R . Corneal neovascularization and the utility of topical VEGF inhibition: ranibizumab (Lucentis) vs bevacizumab (Avastin). Ocul Surf. 2012; 10(2):67-83. PMC: 3471139. DOI: 10.1016/j.jtos.2012.01.005. View

16.

Wagoner M . Chemical injuries of the eye: current concepts in pathophysiology and therapy. Surv Ophthalmol. 1997; 41(4):275-313. DOI: 10.1016/s0039-6257(96)00007-0. View

17.

Park C, Cho C, Song Y . TOP 1 and 2, polysaccharides from Taraxacum officinale, inhibit NFκB-mediated inflammation and accelerate Nrf2-induced antioxidative potential through the modulation of PI3K-Akt signaling pathway in RAW 264.7 cells. Food Chem Toxicol. 2014; 66:56-64. DOI: 10.1016/j.fct.2014.01.019. View

18.

Ma Y, Xu Y, Xiao Z, Yang W, Zhang C, Song E . Reconstruction of chemically burned rat corneal surface by bone marrow-derived human mesenchymal stem cells. Stem Cells. 2005; 24(2):315-21. DOI: 10.1634/stemcells.2005-0046. View

19.

Jiang T, Cai L, Ji W, Hui Y, Wang Y, Hu D . Reconstruction of the corneal epithelium with induced marrow mesenchymal stem cells in rats. Mol Vis. 2010; 16:1304-16. PMC: 2905634. View

20.

Lee K, Mooney D . Hydrogels for tissue engineering. Chem Rev. 2001; 101(7):1869-79. DOI: 10.1021/cr000108x. View