Comparison of the structural integrity and quality of corneal endothelium stored in organ culture storage medium versus Eusol-C.

In this experimental study, we compared the structural integrity and cell quality of corneal endothelium stored in organ culture medium (OCS) and Eusol-C. The experiment included rabbit and human cornea experiments in vitro. Thirty rabbit corneas and thirty-two human corneas were collected and divided into two groups. All right corneas were allocated in experiment group and left corneas were placed in control group. The corneas in experimental group were stored in OCS at 34 °C, and the corneas in control group were stored in Eusol-C at 4 °C for 7, 14, 21, 28, and 35 days, respectively. Endothelial cell morphology, cell count, and trypan blue staining for viability were assessed before storage (Day 0) and at days 7, 14, 21, 28 and 35. The structural integrity of human corneal endothelial cell was analyzed using immunohistochemistry. The samples of storage solution for microbial culture were collected on the third day and at the end of storage. The results show that no bacterial and fungal infections were found in both groups. After 14 days of storage, the morphology of endothelial cell was better in the experimental group than in the control group. The endothelial cell stored in OCS were better than those stored in Eusol-C at the end of storage times, except human cornea 14 days storage group. The ZO-1 protein staining showed the typical polygonal morphology of endothelial cell stored in the OCS. Corneal endothelial cells stored in the OCS had better quality up to 28 days. It can be applied to Chinese eye banks as a method of corneal preservation.