title: Acellular ostrich corneal stroma used as scaffold for construction of tissue-engineered cornea.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess acellular ostrich corneal matrix used as a scaffold to reconstruct a damaged cornea.
  
  
  METHODS
  A hypertonic saline solution combined with a digestion method was used to decellularize the ostrich cornea. The microstructure of the acellular corneal matrix was observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. The mechanical properties were detected by a rheometer and a tension machine. The acellular corneal matrix was also transplanted into a rabbit cornea and cytokeratin 3 was used to check the immune phenotype.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The microstructure and mechanical properties of the ostrich cornea were well preserved after the decellularization process. In vitro, the methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium results revealed that extracts of the acellular ostrich corneas (AOCs) had no inhibitory effects on the proliferation of the corneal epithelial or endothelial cells or on the keratocytes. The rabbit lamellar keratoplasty showed that the transplanted AOCs were transparent and completely incorporated into the host cornea while corneal turbidity and graft dissolution occurred in the acellular porcine cornea (APC) transplantation. The phenotype of the reconstructed cornea was similar to a normal rabbit cornea with a high expression of cytokeratin 3 in the superficial epithelial cell layer.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We first used AOCs as scaffolds to reconstruct damaged corneas. Compared with porcine corneas, the anatomical structures of ostrich corneas are closer to those of human corneas. In accordance with the principle that structure determines function, a xenograft lamellar keratoplasty also confirmed that the AOC transplantation generated a superior outcome compared to that of the APC graft.
authors.affiliation: Shaanxi Institute of Ophthalmology, Xi'an 710002, Shaanxi Province, China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Eye, Xi'an 710002, Shaanxi Province, China; Xi'an First Hospital, Xi'an 710002, Shaanxi Province, China.
authors.forename: Xian-Ning
authors.initials: XN
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Shaanxi Institute of Ophthalmology, Xi'an 710002, Shaanxi Province, China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Eye, Xi'an 710002, Shaanxi Province, China; Xi'an First Hospital, Xi'an 710002, Shaanxi Province, China.
authors.forename: Xiu-Ping
authors.initials: XP
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Xi'an First Hospital, Xi'an 710002, Shaanxi Province, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Biomanufacturing Engineering Laboratory, Graduate School at Shenzhen, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen 518055, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Zheng-Jie
authors.initials: ZJ
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Shaanxi Institute of Ophthalmology, Xi'an 710002, Shaanxi Province, China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Eye, Xi'an 710002, Shaanxi Province, China; Xi'an First Hospital, Xi'an 710002, Shaanxi Province, China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Shaanxi Institute of Ophthalmology, Xi'an 710002, Shaanxi Province, China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Eye, Xi'an 710002, Shaanxi Province, China; Xi'an First Hospital, Xi'an 710002, Shaanxi Province, China.
authors.forename: Xiang-Hua
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Biomanufacturing Engineering Laboratory, Graduate School at Shenzhen, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen 518055, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Biomanufacturing Engineering Laboratory, Graduate School at Shenzhen, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen 518055, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.affiliation: Shaanxi Institute of Ophthalmology, Xi'an 710002, Shaanxi Province, China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Eye, Xi'an 710002, Shaanxi Province, China; Xi'an First Hospital, Xi'an 710002, Shaanxi Province, China.
authors.forename: Shi-Yin
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Shaanxi Institute of Ophthalmology, Xi'an 710002, Shaanxi Province, China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Eye, Xi'an 710002, Shaanxi Province, China; Xi'an First Hospital, Xi'an 710002, Shaanxi Province, China.
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Xi'an First Hospital, Xi'an 710002, Shaanxi Province, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Shaanxi Institute of Ophthalmology, Xi'an 710002, Shaanxi Province, China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Eye, Xi'an 710002, Shaanxi Province, China; Xi'an First Hospital, Xi'an 710002, Shaanxi Province, China.
authors.forename: Na
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: An
authors.affiliation: Biomanufacturing Engineering Laboratory, Graduate School at Shenzhen, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen 518055, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Sheng-Li
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Mi
keywords: acellular corneal stroma; cornea; ostrich; tissue engineering