Figure 3
From: A Rabbit Corneal Endothelial Dysfunction Model Using Endothelial-Mesenchymal Transformed Cells
Functional assessment of in vivo transplantation. (A) Change in corneal thickness after transplantation shows significant increase in thickness due to edema in the EMT-RCECs group. Corneal thickness 42 days postoperatively in the EMT-RCECs group was higher than Scrape-group (p = 2.0 × 10−5) and also higher than the Fresh RCECs group (p = 2.9 × 10−5) (***p < 0.001). (B) Anterior segment photographs of rabbit corneas 1, 3, 7, 15, 42 days after transplantation. Eyes transplanted with EMT-RCECs showed severe edema (upper panel), while Scrape-group and Fresh RCECs group recovered transparency after 7 days (middle and lower panel). (C) IOP was similar in all groups indicating that the difference in corneal thickness was not due to differences in IOP. (Scrape-group: black squares n = 4), (EMT RCECs: black circles n = 4), (Fresh RCECs: gray triangles n = 4). (D) Anterior segment photographs of rabbit corneas 10 (left panel) and 30 (right panel) days after transplantation with EMT-RCECs. Bullae formation is observed in day 10 (arrow), sub-epithelial changes such as neovascularization after day 30 (arrow). Abbreviation IOP: intraocular pressure.
