Comparative Light and Electron Microscopic Study on the Therapeutic Efficacy of Adipose Derived Stem Cells Versus Exosomes for Experimentally Induced Acute Corneal Injuries in Rats

Background: Corneal alkali injuries are considered a common ophthalmologic emergency with many serious complications. Adipose Tissue-Derived Stem Cells (ADSCs) and Mesenchymal Stem Cells derived Exosomes (MSCs-EX) are promising approaches in regenerative therapies. Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of ADSCs versus MSCs-EX on experimentally alkaliinduced corneal injuries in rats. Materials and Methods: 40 adult male albino rats were divided into four groups, that is, Group I: control rats, Group II: alkali burn rats, Group III: ADSCs treated rats after corneal alkali burn, Group IV: MSCs-EX treated rats after corneal alkali burn. Cornea specimens were taken and processed for histological examination. Results: Group II showed obvious changes such as erosion with focal loss of some superficial epithelial cells, while the basal and intermediate epithelial cell layers had vacuolated cytoplasm with pyknotic nuclei. The substantia propria contained irregularly arranged collagen fibers with wide spacing, keratocytes, and congested blood vessels. Descemet's membrane appeared thin and degenerated with focal loss of some endothelial cells. Ultrastructural examination showed degenerated apical squamous cells with loss of microvilli on their free surface. The basal cells had irregular contour with widening of intracellular space between cells with multiple cytoplasmic vacuoles. The substantia propria showed disorganized collagen fibers with degenerated keratocytes and mononuclear cellular infiltration. Groups III and IV showed improvement of the histological and electron microscopic changes described in group II. Conclusion: ADSCs and MSCs-EX can improve corneal alkali burn injuries and prevent their complications. Exosomes are a more promising therapeutic approach. Comparative Light and Electron Microscopic Study on the Therapeutic Efficacy of Adipose Derived Stem Cells Versus Exosomes for Experimentally Induced Acute Corneal Injuries in Rats Abeer M El-Mahalaway1, Nahla El-Eraky El-Azab1*, Mohamed Abdrabbo2, Omar M Said2, Dina Sabry3 and Mohamed M El Sibaie3 1Department of Histology and Cell Biology, Benha Faculty of Medicine, Benha University, Benha, Egypt 2Department of Ophthalmology, Benha Faculty of Medicine, Benha University and Fayoum Faculty of Medicine, Fayoum University, Egypt 3Department of Medical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt *Corresponding author: Nahla El-Eraky El-Azab, Department of Histology and Cell Biology, Benha Faculty of Medicine, Benha University, Benha, Egypt, Tel: +201027636357; E-mail: eleraky_nahla@yahoo.com/nahla.Eleraky@fmed.bu.edu.eg Received June 20, 2018; Accepted July 09, 2018; Published July 13, 2018 Citation: El-Mahalaway AM, El-Azab NEE, Abdrabbo M, Said OM, Sabry D, et al. (2018) Comparative Light and Electron Microscopic Study on the Therapeutic Efficacy of Adipose Derived Stem Cells Versus Exosomes for Experimentally Induced Acute Corneal Injuries in Rats. Stem Cell Res Ther 8: 431. doi: 10.4172/2157-7633.1000431 Copyright: © 2018 El-Mahalaway AM, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.