Evaluation of Anti-Inflammatory and Antiapoptotic Effects of Bone Marrow and Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Acute Alkaline Corneal Burn

• Published in: Journal of ocular pharmacology and therapeutics Vol. 37; no. 1; p. 24
• Main Authors: Dinç, Erdem, Dursun, Özer, Yilmaz, Gülsen, Kurt, A Hakan, Ayaz, Lokman, Vatansever, Mustafa, Özer, Ömer, Yilmaz, Şakir Necat
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.01.2021
• Subjects: mesenchymal stem cell; apoptosis; wound healing; chemical corneal burn; inflammation; alkaline burn
• ISSN: 1557-7732
• DOI: 10.1089/jop.2020.0103

The aim of the present study is to comparatively evaluate the anti-inflammatory and antiapoptotic effects of bone marrow and adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) applied subconjunctivally after alkaline corneal burn. Thirty-two rats were divided into 4 groups and included in the study (  = 8). While no intervention was made in the control group, a chemical burn was created by applying 4 μL of NaOH soaked in 6 mm filter paper to the right eye of each subject in the other groups under general anesthesia. While only subconjunctival 0.1 mL phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) was injected to in the group 1, 2 × 10 adipose or bone marrow-derived MSC in 0.1 mL PBS was applied subconjunctivally to the subjects in the remaining groups (Group 2 and 3, respectively). Tissue samples were collected for histological analysis on the third day after the burn. Tissue samples were evaluated light microscopically and immunohistochemically stained for interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), caspase-3 (Cas-3), and CD68. The IL-1β and TNF-α staining scores and the number of CD68- and Cas-3-positive stained cells were significantly lower in the groups given bone marrow and adipose-derived MSC compared to the alkaline burn group (  < 0.0001, for all parameters). Epithelial IL-1β and TNF-α staining scores were significantly lower in the bone marrow-derived MSC group compared to the adipose-derived MSC group (  < 0.0001, for all parameters). The presented study shows that both bone-marrow and adipose-derived MSCs support wound healing in the corneal tissue and strongly suppress the inflammation occured in the tissue.