title: Conjunctival structural and functional reconstruction using acellular bovine pericardium graft (Normal GEN®) in rabbits.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the effectiveness of acellular bovine pericardium grafts (Normal GEN®) used as scaffolds for conjunctival reconstruction.
  
  
  METHODS
  The acellular bovine pericardium graft and the amnion graft were implanted into the bulbar conjunctival defects of adult rabbits. Conjunctival samples of implanted materials and blank defect controls were observed at day 3, 7, 14, 21, 28, and 56 postoperatively. Histological examination was observed at day 14, 28, and 56 of surgery, including hematoxylin-eosin staining, periodic acid-Schiff staining, and Masson's trichrome staining, while immunofluorescent microscopy was observed at 14 days and 28 days after surgery. Results were compared among the Normal GEN®, amnion, and blank defect controls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All three groups showed complete conjunctival reconstruction. Wounds that were not grafted closed by formation of conjunctival scar characterized by a linear array of densely packed collagen fibers in Tenon's capsule. Subepithelial tissue in the grafted groups comprised a loosely organized network of randomly oriented collagen that resembled that of the normal bulbar conjunctiva. However, there was a dense layer of aligned collagen between the conjunctival Tenon's capsule and the sclera in the NormalGEN® group, about 250 μm in thickness.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Implantation of the NormalGEN® graft promoted the formation of conjunctiva as a kind of scaffold both in structure and in function. It had more advantageous mechanical properties than the amnion, strong and elastic, during the period of conjunctival reconstruction.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, No.54, Xianlie Road (South), Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. hdanp@mail.sysu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Danping
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, No.54, Xianlie Road (South), Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, No.54, Xianlie Road (South), Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Xiaonan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, No.54, Xianlie Road (South), Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Binbin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, No.54, Xianlie Road (South), Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D000650:Amnion / Q000637:transplantation; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D002417:Cattle; D003094:Collagen / Q000378:metabolism; D003229:Conjunctival Diseases / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; D006801:Humans; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D010496:Pericardium / Q000637:transplantation*; D011817:Rabbits; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D003094:Collagen
keywords: Acellular bovine pericardium; Conjunctival reconstruction; NormalGEN® graft; Tissue engineering