The Anti-Scarring Role of Lycium barbarum Polysaccharride on Cornea Epithelial-Stromal Injury

Abstract

Purpose : The study is to assess whether Lycium barbarum polysaccharide (LBP) solution can be a novel therapy in modulating fibroblasts differentiation after corneal epithelial- stromal injury in a three-dimension model. Methods : A 3D model made of PDMS elastomers is created to mimic the anatomy and physiology of the corneal stroma. The chip consists of a cell culture chamber and is connected to two channels where medium or LBP is supplied. Human fibroblasts are suspended in collagen to form a three-dimensional hydrogel construct. Cells are pre-treated with optimized 2 mg/mL LBP for 24 hours, followed by 10 ng/mL TGF-b1 for another 24 hours. Results : Fibroblasts pre-treated with LBP showed a decreased expression of alpha-smooth muscle actin, which is a prominent marker of myofibroblasts. Pro-fibrotic proteins such as vimentin, collagen II and collagen III are as well reduced. Cell-laden hydrogel pre-treated with LBP revealed no significant contraction compared to that in control group (p=0.29) while group pre-treated with TGF-b1 showed increased contraction by 17.3% (p<0.001). The stiffness of the hydrogel treated with TGF-b1 alone had an increase by 3.55-fold (p=0.02) yet that in the LBP group showed no significant difference compared to that in control group (p=0.9964) Conclusions : LBP can be a potential topical therapy to prevent corneal scarring prior to surgery. Optimized LBP concentration can potentially lead to fewer adverse effects compared to standard pharmacological treatments while minimizing fibroblast differentiation. This is a 2021 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.