title: RGD surface functionalization of the hydrophilic acrylic intraocular lens material to control posterior capsular opacification.
abstract: Posterior Capsular Opacification (PCO) is the capsule fibrosis developed on implanted IntraOcular Lens (IOL) by the de-differentiation of Lens Epithelial Cells (LECs) undergoing Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition (EMT). Literature has shown that the incidence of PCO is multifactorial including the patient's age or disease, surgical technique, and IOL design and material. Reports comparing hydrophilic and hydrophobic acrylic IOLs have shown that the former has more severe PCO. On the other hand, we have previously demonstrated that the adhesion of LECs is favored on hydrophobic compared to hydrophilic materials. By combining these two facts and contemporary knowledge in PCO development via the EMT pathway, we propose a biomimetically inspired strategy to promote LEC adhesion without de-differentiation to reduce the risk of PCO development. By surface grafting of a cell adhesion molecule (RGD peptide) onto the conventional hydrophilic acrylic IOL material, the surface-functionalized IOL can be used to reconstitute a capsule-LEC-IOL sandwich structure, which has been considered to prevent PCO formation in literature. Our results show that the innovative biomaterial improves LEC adhesion, while also exhibiting similar optical (light transmittance, optical bench) and mechanical (haptic compression force, IOL injection force) properties compared to the starting material. In addition, compared to the hydrophobic IOL material, our bioactive biomaterial exhibits similar abilities in LEC adhesion, morphology maintenance, and EMT biomarker expression, which is the crucial pathway to induce PCO. The in vitro assays suggest that this biomaterial has the potential to reduce the risk factor of PCO development.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Chemistry & Bio-Medical and Preclinical Sciences, Mass Spectrometry Laboratory & Mammalian Cell Culture Laboratory - GIGA R, Université de Liège, Liège, Belgium; CBMN UMR5248, Institute of Chemistry & Biology of Membranes & Nanoobjects, Université de Bordeaux, Pessac, France.
authors.forename: Yi-Shiang
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Departments of Chemistry & Bio-Medical and Preclinical Sciences, Mass Spectrometry Laboratory & Mammalian Cell Culture Laboratory - GIGA R, Université de Liège, Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: Virginie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bertrand
authors.affiliation: Research and Development Department, PhysIOL SA, Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: Dimitriya
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bozukova
authors.affiliation: Research and Development Department, PhysIOL SA, Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pagnoulle
authors.affiliation: PLACAMAT, Plateforme Aquitaine de Caractérisation des Matériaux, UMS 3626, Université de Bordeaux, Pessac, France.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Labrugère
authors.affiliation: Departments of Chemistry & Bio-Medical and Preclinical Sciences, Mass Spectrometry Laboratory & Mammalian Cell Culture Laboratory - GIGA R, Université de Liège, Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: Edwin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: De Pauw
authors.affiliation: Departments of Chemistry & Bio-Medical and Preclinical Sciences, Mass Spectrometry Laboratory & Mammalian Cell Culture Laboratory - GIGA R, Université de Liège, Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: Marie-Claire
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: De Pauw-Gillet
authors.affiliation: CBMN UMR5248, Institute of Chemistry & Biology of Membranes & Nanoobjects, Université de Bordeaux, Pessac, France.
authors.forename: Marie-Christine
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Durrieu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D058442:Capsule Opacification / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D002386:Cataract / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D002387:Cataract Extraction / Q000009:adverse effects; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000187:drug effects; D054337:Cell Dedifferentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D002460:Cell Line; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D058750:Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D007910:Lenses, Intraocular / Q000009:adverse effects*; D019736:Prostheses and Implants / Q000009:adverse effects; D013552:Swine