Transplantation of cultured corneal endothelial cells: Towards clinical application

Spinozzi D. (2020)

Doctoral Thesis

Corneal transplantation still represents the elected method for the treatment of corneal endothelial pathologies. However, the worldwide shortage of donor corneas induced the exploration of approaches to use the donor tissue more efficiently or to be more independent from donor tissue. This thesis will illustrate the improvements of new strategies for cell-based corneal endothelial regeneration, alternative to corneal endothelial surgical transplantation, by bridging the gap between in vitro experiments and clinical models. In the studies described, we first address the establishment of a GMP-compliant protocol for in vitro hCEC culture for clinical application and then we focus on endothelial cell sheet transplantation, describing both in vitro and in vivo applications of expanded CEC-carriers constructs made by biocompatible materials.

• Corneal endothelium
• Tissue engineering
• Endothelial cell culture
• Corneal transplantation
• Cell therapy
• Cell culture
• GMP compliancy
• Bioengineered carriers

• All authors: Spinozzi D.
• Supervisor: Jager M.J.
• Co-supervisor: Melles G.R.J., Oellerich S.
• Committee: Hjortdal J., S. Ní Dhubhghaill S., Cheng Y.Y.
• Qualification: Doctor (dr.)
• Awarding Institution: Faculty of Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Leiden University
• Date: 2020-11-17
• ISBN (print): 9789464230277