Comprehensive evaluation of decellularized porcine corneal after clinical transplantation

AbstractCorneal disease is the second most common blinding disease in the world. The shortage of cornea donors has become the greatest challenge in curing corneal disease. Decellularized porcine corneas have the potential to be clinically applied as a substitute for human cornea in lamellar keratoplasty. Porcine corneas will help relieve the cornea donor shortage. To comprehensively evaluate the characteristics of the grafts and the effect of the decellularized porcine cornea on the host cornea after clinical transplantation, we assessed the microstructure of the transplanted decellularized porcine corneal tissues. Through the analysis of the microstructure of the tissues by H&E staining, TEM and immunofluorescence of anti‐human vimentin, anti‐pig vimentin,IL‐1, IL‐2, IL‐3, IL‐6, IL‐8, INF‐γ, and TNF‐α immunofluorescence staining, we found that despite the slight rejection that occurred, the porcine cornea has good biocompatibility and can provide a scaffold for cell growth. Genetic analysis using Solexa sequencing of the samples showed that decellularized porcine corneas cannot affect genes in patients’ corneas. Decellularized porcine corneas are effective biological materials for use in corneal transplantation.