title: Immunogenicity of epikeratophakia tissue lenses containing living donor keratocytes.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to compare the survival of epikeratophakia tissue lenses prepared with cryolathing and lyophilization (frozen lenses) and without (fresh lenses) in donor-sensitized recipients with vascularized corneas. Fresh lenses placed in vascularized corneas of immune recipients were subjected to immune attack. Frozen lenses placed in vascularized corneas of immunized recipients did not elicit an immune reaction. Neither fresh nor frozen lenses elicited immune reactions in nonvascularized corneas of immune recipients or in nonvascularized, nonimmune recipients. These results indicate that although the fresh lenses are more antigenic than the lenses in which the cells have been killed by freezing and lyophilization, the fresh lenses prepared using the BKS-1000 technique containing living stromal keratocytes are not likely to stimulate allograft immune reactions in unsensitized patients with avascular graft sites.
authors.affiliation: Lions Eye Research Laboratories, Louisiana State University Medical Center School of Medicine, New Orleans.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Frantz
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Gebhardt
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Reidy
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: McDonald
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002470:Cell Survival; D003238:Connective Tissue / Q000276:immunology*; D003315:Cornea / Q000098:blood supply; D016039:Corneal Transplantation / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D005612:Freeze Drying; D006085:Graft Survival / Q000276:immunology; D006087:Graft vs Host Reaction / Q000276:immunology*; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000473:pathology; D009926:Organ Preservation; D011817:Rabbits; D011897:Random Allocation; D016038:Skin Transplantation / Q000276:immunology; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous