Adipose Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells from Abdominal Liposuction Used as Topical Therapy for Ocular Corneal Lesions: Brief Overview

Purpose: The aim of our study was to assess the clinical effectiveness of topical adipose derived
stem cell (ADSC) treatment in laser induced corneal wounds in mice by comparing epithelial repair,
inflammation and histological analysis between treatment arms.
Methods: Corneal lesions were performed on both eyes of 40 mice by laser induced photorefractive
keratectomy. All eyes were treated with topical azythromycin bid for 3 days. Mice were divided in
three treatment groups (n = 20), which included: Control, stem cells and basic serum; which received
topical treatment 3 times daily for 5 consecutive days. Biomicroscope assessments and digital
imaging were performed by two masked graders at 30, 54, 78, 100 and 172 h to analyze extent of
fluorescein positive epithelial defect, corneal inflammation, etc. Immunohistochemical techniques
were used in fixed eyes to assess corneal repair markers Ki67, α Smooth Muscle Actin (α-SMA) and
E-Cadherin.
Results: The fluorescein positive corneal lesion areas were significantly smaller in the stem cells
group on days 1 (p < 0.05), 2 (p < 0.02) and 3. The stem cell treated group had slightly better and
faster re-epithelization than the serum treated group in the initial phases. Comparative histological
data showed signs of earlier and better corneal repair in epithelium and stromal layers in stem cell
treated eyes, which showed more epithelial layers and enhanced wound healing performance of Ki67,
E-Cadherin and α-SMA.
Conclusions: Our study shows the potential clinical and histological advantages in the topical ADSC
treatment for corneal lesions in mice.