The major findings regarding corneal allograft rejection in experimental animals are reviewed. The principal anatomic and biological feature of the cornea that determines the immunologic privilege of this tissue is its avascularity. The surgical trauma of transplantation compromises the immunologic privilege, putting corneal allografts at risk for immune rejection. During the past 50 yr, rabbit...

AIMS Donor organ cultured corneal tissue selection before penetrating keratoplasty is carried out by taking into account different variables. The objective was to identify preoperative variables which are significantly and independently associated with transplant outcome and should effectively be taken into account before transplantation. METHODS 231 consecutive penetrating keratoplasties wer...

The clear cornea functions like a window that controls the entry of light for visual information and plays a protective role. The failure of appropriate repair following corneal injury results in loss of corneal function. The limbal region of the cornea is thought to serve as a unique reservoir of corneal epithelial stem cells where limbal stem cells (LSC) contributed to the regeneration of cor...

Keratoplasty is the oldest and one of the most successful forms of solid tissue transplantation. In the United States, over 33,000 corneal transplants are performed each year. Unlike other forms of tissue transplantation, keratoplasties are routinely performed without the aid of tissue typing or systemic immunosuppressive drugs. In spite of this, 90% of the first-time corneal transplants will s...

Acellular corneal stroma matrix has been used for corneal stroma engineering. However, because of its compact tissue structure, regrowth of keratocytes into the scaffold is difficult. Previously, we developed a sandwich model for cartilage engineering using acellular cartilage sheets. In the present study, we tested this model for corneal stroma regeneration using acellular porcine corneal stro...

The barrier and pump functions of the corneal endothelium are essential for the maintenance of corneal transparency. Although corneal transplantation is the only current therapy for treating corneal endothelial dysfunction, the potential of tissue-engineering techniques to provide highly efficient and less invasive therapy in comparison to corneal transplantation has been highly anticipated. Ho...

PURPOSE Many corneal grafts undergo immune rejection, and current therapies are associated with many side effects. The purpose of this study was to identify critical chemokine pathways involved in generating the alloimmune response to corneal transplants. METHODS Orthotopic corneal transplantation was performed in fully mismatched strains. Cytokine and chemokine receptor gene expression was d...

Deep Anterior lamellar Keratoplasty (DALK) has become the corneal transplantation technique of choice for corneal diseases that spare the corneal endothelium. The major indications include keratoconus, stromal corneal dystrophies, corneal scars that spare the Descemet membrane (DM) and recalcitrant infectious keratitis. Unlike the old technique of penetrating/full thickness corneal transplantat...

BACKGROUND/AIMS The requirement for an effective, minimally toxic immunosuppressive agent remains a major obstacle to performing high risk corneal transplantation. Although therapy with cyclosporin A (CSA) allows superior graft survival, its use is limited because of a wide range of side effects. Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) has been shown to be a safe and effective immunosuppressive agent follo...

Ichthyosis follicular, alopecia, and photophobia (IFAP) syndrome is a rare disease, with possible X-linked mode of inheritance. The patient presented with ocular findings of photophobia, corneal scarring and erosions, superficial and deep corneal vascularization and myopia. He was treated with artificial tears and punctal occlusion with small improvement of photophobia. After three months using...