Impediments to eye transplantation: ocular viability following optic-nerve transection or enucleation.
Maintenance of ocular viability is one of the major impediments to successful whole-eye transplantation. This review provides a comprehensive understanding of the current literature to help guide future studies in order to overcome this hurdle. A systematic multistage review of published literature was performed. Three specific questions were addressed: (1) Is recovery of visual function following eye transplantation greater in cold-blooded vertebrates when compared with mammals? (2) Is outer retina function following enucleation and reperfusion improved compared with enucleation alone? (3) Following optic-nerve transection, is there a correlation between retinal ganglion cell (RGC) survival and either time after transection or proximity of the transection to the globe? In a majority of the studies performed in the literature, recovery of visual function can occur after whole-eye transplantation in cold-blooded vertebrates. Following enucleation (and reperfusion), outer retinal function is maintained from 4 to 9 h. RGC survival following optic-nerve transection is inversely related to both the time since transection and the proximity of transection to the globe. Lastly, neurotrophins can increase RGC survival following optic-nerve transection. This review of the literature suggests that the use of a donor eye is feasible for whole-eye transplantation.
Ellenberg
D
D
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60612, USA.
Shi
J
J
Jain
S
S
Chang
J-H
JH
Ripps
H
H
Brady
S
S
Melhem
E R
ER
Lakkis
F
F
Adamis
A
A
Chen
D-F
DF
Ellis-Behnke
R
R
Langer
R S
RS
Strittmatter
S M
SM
Azar
D T
DT
D000818:Animals; D005123:Eye / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000637:transplantation*; D015353:Eye Enucleation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D020221:Optic Nerve Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012160:Retina / Q000502:physiology; D012165:Retinal Ganglion Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D014019:Tissue Donors; D014022:Tissue Survival / Q000502:physiology; D014792:Visual Acuity