High-Risk Keratoplasty Using Conditioned Media of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in an Experiment

Purpose : to evaluate in experiment the dynamics and intensity of vascular sprouting in the donor cornea during keratoplasty against the background of pre-existing neoangiogenesis when using a conditioned medium of mesenchymal stem cells. Materials and methods . The object of the study was 15 rabbits (10 recipient rabbits, 5 donor rabbits) of the gray Chinchilla breed weighing 2.5–3.2 kg. The experiments were carried out in two stages. At the first stage, 10 animals were simulated with a unilateral thermal burn of the peripheral zone of the cornea with limbal involvement. Penetrating keratoplasty was performed using standard technology on the 15th day of the experiment. At the second stage, the recipient rabbits were divided into experimental and control groups. 5 rabbits, 5 eyes, in the control group and 5 rabbits, 5 eyes, in the main group. In the main group, instillations of paracrine factors of mesenchymal stem cells were used as postoperative treatment from the 1st to the 30th knocks four times. In the control group, treatment was carried out by instillation of antibiotics (Oftaquix) and keratoprotectors (Korneregel) three times for 30 days. Research methods included biomicroscopy, photographic recording of the anterior segment of the eye, examination using a Pentacam AXL device, and histological examination. The observation periods were 1st, 3rd, 7th, 14th, 30th day. Results. The results of postoperative treatment at the second stage of the experiment, as well as the results of histology, showed a pronounced antiangiogenic effect of the conditioned medium of mesenchymal stem cells. This was confirmed by the absence of pronounced vascularization of the donor cornea, the attenuation of the inflammatory reaction and the formation of a scar on the 30th day of drug instillation. In the control group, graft disease developed from the seventh day. Conclusion. The results obtained during the work seem promising. The use of the conditioned medium of mesenchymal stem cells demonstrated a sufficiently pronounced effectiveness compared with standard drug therapy in the postoperative period after high-risk end-to-end keratoplasty in experimental animals performed on a model of post-burn corneal neovascularization.