Collagenase for corneal regeneration
Researchers at the University of Newcastle, working under the leadership of Professor Che Connon, have proposed a potentially revolutionary method for treating eye injuries and preventing the development of blindness. It consists in enzymatic softening of the cornea of the eye, which promotes self-renewal of stem cells and regeneration of damage.
The cornea, or cornea, which is the outer layer of the eye, plays an important role in focusing vision, but the mechanisms that ensure the maintenance of its transparency and resistance to damage have been little studied to date. Like the skin, the cornea is covered with a multi-layered epithelium, which acts as a barrier protecting the internal structures of the eye from physical influences and microorganisms. However, unlike the skin, when damage occurs, the epithelium of the cornea is restored by stem cells localized in its peripheral parts. First, these cells divide repeatedly, after which they migrate to the damage zone already in the form of mature epithelial cells. However, this healing process may be disrupted in cases where the damage affects the stem cell niche.
Using a sophisticated microscopy technology that allows us to visualize the physical properties of tissues with very high resolution, the authors demonstrated that the corneal zone populated by stem cells is much softer than the surrounding tissue. At the same time, it turned out that the violation of the tissue's ability to heal wounds is due not to cell death, but to their differentiation and maturation in response to tissue compaction caused by damage, such as chemical burn.
The effect of collagenase treatment was initially tested on donor corneas.
Using living corneal tissue as a model system, the authors reproduced the effects of chemical burns. After local treatment with small doses of collagenase, an enzyme that softens the collagen protein, the tissue compacted as a result of the burn became soft again, which restored its ability to support stem cells and ensure damage recovery. The collagenase drug used in the study has already been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency for use in similar therapeutic purposes.
Comparison of rabbits treated with collagenase and untreated after chemical burn of the horny membranes.
The authors believe that their proposed technique will significantly reduce the shortage of donor corneas for transplantation to patients with complete blindness caused by scarring of the cornea of the eye as a result of burns, mechanical damage or diseases. Moreover, experts estimate that 10 million people in the world require surgery to prevent blindness caused by diseases such as trachoma, an infectious eye disease that often affects people in developing countries.
Article by Ricardo M. Gouveia et al. Assessment of corneal substrate biomechanics and its effect on epithelial stem cell maintenance and differentiation is published in the journal Nature Communications.
Evgenia Ryabtseva, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on materials from Newcastle University: A soft spot for stem cells helps cornea healing.