UNILATERAL EPITHELIAL DISEASES

Corneal epithelial surface disease / injury may result from either one of the following conditions which mau lead to limbal stem cell damage.
It may be caused by

  • Keratitis sicca,
  • Xerophthalmia,
  • Chemical and thermal burns,
  • Ocular cicatricial pemphigoid,
  • Stevens-Johnson syndrome, and numerous skin diseases
  • Ulcerative Keratitis

In cases of unilateral limbal stem cell deficiency or ocular surface damage in one eye, NCRM has developed an innovative method of ocular surface reconstruction. This technique expands limbal stem cells from the unaffected healthy eye using Festigel (Free-from-Endotoxin Scaffold of Thermoresponsive Intelli-GEL) as a synthetic substitute for stromal tissue. Festigel provides a supportive scaffold for epithelial cell growth and subsequent transplantation through our hybrid approach LEES-HARC (Limbal Epithelium Expanded and Encapsulated in Scaffold – Hybrid Approach to Regenerate Cornea).

In pre-clinical studies of LEES-HARC, Festigel effectively supported epithelial cell proliferation in vitro, maintaining cell viability. The cultured cells expressed limbal stem cell markers and demonstrated a corneal epithelial phenotype, indicating that Festigel preserves the stemness and functional characteristics of the cells. Festigel helps overcome several limitations associated with allogenic tissue and biological substrates. As a nano-polymer, it can be custom-fabricated to suit specific clinical needs and offers a consistent, ready-to-use material for transplantation thus eliminating issues of variable mechanical strength and risks of immunologic rejection. Festigel is non-toxic, biodegradable, and possesses adequate tensile strength, making it a safe and reliable scaffold for clinical applications in ocular surface regeneration.

A simplified method LHES-HARC (Limbal Epithelium Hashed & Encapsulated in Scaffold- Hybrid Approach to Regeneration of the Corneal epithelium) is also being developed for clinical application.

 

PUBLICATIONS:

  1. Sitalakshmi G, Sudha B, Madhavan HN, Vinay S, Krishnakumar S, Mori Y, Yoshioka H, Abraham S. Ex vivo cultivation of corneal limbal epithelial cells in a thermoreversible polymer (Mebiol Gel) and their transplantation in rabbits: an animal model. Tissue Eng Part A. 2009;15(2):407-15.

  2. Sudha B, Madhavan HN, Sitalakshmi G, Malathi J, Krishnakumar S, Mori Y, Yoshioka H, Abraham S. Cultivation of human corneal limbal stem cells in Mebiol gel - A thermo-reversible gelation polymer. 1. Indian J Med Res. 2006;124(6):655-64

  3. Namitha B, Chitra MR, Bhavya M, Katoh S, Yoshioka H, Iwasaki M, Senthilkumar R, Rajmohan M, Karthick R, Preethy S, Abraham SJK. A novel human donor cornea preservation cocktail incorporating a thermo-reversible gelation polymer (TGP), enhancing the corneal endothelial cell density maintenance and explant culture of corneal limbal cells . Biotechnology Letters 2021. doi:10.1007/s10529-021-03116-y

  4. Senthilkumar R, Yoshioka H, Katoh S, Iwasaki M, VSurya Prakash V, Balamurugan M, Dedeepiya VD, Preethy S, Abraham. Engraftment and proliferation of thermoreversible-gelation-polymer-encapsulated human corneal limbal-stem-cells on ocular surface of a cadaver cornea. Current Eye Research. doi: 10.1080/02713683.2023.2180039.