The limbus, a thin strip at the border of the cornea and sclera, plays a key role in the biological mechanisms of eye tissue renewal and restoration.

Limbal epithelial stem cells. (LESCs), along with MSCs, ensure corneal homeostasis and can regenerate damaged epithelium in cases of traumatic injuries, thermal and chemical burns of the cornea, corneal damage due to contact lens use, corneal dystrophy, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, and more.

BMCP is produced based on AT MSCs and/or LESCs, isolated from the patient’s keratolimbal flap and cultured in vitro (in the laboratory) until a therapeutic dose is obtained.

Transplantation of BMCP containing LESCs and/or MSCs compensates for the deficiency of limbal epithelial stem cells that occurs in injuries, pathological damage, and corneal dystrophies.

Treatment Scheme

Indications for CT include:

• Corneal epithelial defects, ulcerative keratitis of various etiologies resistant to traditional treatment methods;
• Corneal dystrophic diseases accompanied by edema;
• Burn injuries of the ocular surface I-III degrees;
• Iatrogenic keratopathies;
• Recurrent ulcerative keratouveitis;
• Various types of keratoplasty with donor tissue transplantation;
• Graft disease and corneal graft rejection;
• Post-traumatic, postoperative, contusion keratitis;
• Keratopathies (including bullous), aniridia, keratoconus.

The biomaterial for producing autologous BMCP is a biopsy of the limbus of the healthy eye (for LESCs) and adipose tissue (for MSCs) of the patient.

The biomaterial is collected on an outpatient basis under local anesthesia in an operating room.

The CT course is planned individually and may include one or several cell transplantations in one or both eyes.

The frequency of administration is determined by the nature of the inflammatory-dystrophic process of the corneal membrane individually for each patient, as well as the positive response to the applied treatment method.

A single dose of BMCP contains 500,000 cells.

The standard treatment program involves producing a total dose of 10 million cells, applied in stages: 6 million cells are used in the first stage of treatment over 6 procedures with intervals of several weeks (500,000 cells in both eyes 6 times), and the remaining 4 million are cryopreserved (frozen) and used in the second stage several months later.

The cell transplantation procedure involves pericorneal and/or subconjunctival administration of a single dose of BMCP on an outpatient basis.

Effectiveness

Treatment results are evaluated by the dynamics of the regenerative process of the inflammatory-dystrophic corneal lesion: restoration of the epithelium, reduction of corneal edema, improvement of visual acuity, and shortening of epithelialization times of corneal ulcers.

Local pericorneal transplantation of cultured LESCs and/or MSCs has a direct impact on the pathogenesis of limbal deficiency and ensures sustained regeneration of the corneal epithelium, maintaining its regenerative properties for a long time, including for subsequent successful corneal transplantation.

Safety and Complications

Various congenital and genetic pathologies, autoimmune, infectious, and oncological diseases (even if successfully treated in the past) significantly reduce the effectiveness of cell therapy.

Chronic heart diseases, blood coagulation disorders, alcohol, and drug dependence significantly impact the clinical outcome.

The safety of the method regarding autoimmune, allergic, and infectious complications is ensured by using the patient’s own cells, eliminating the risks of graft rejection and transmission of transmissible infections such as viral hepatitis and HIV.

Currently, there are no reported cases of oncological diseases resulting from the use of autologous LESCs and MSCs in scientific literature.

The high professional level of our specialists and the patient’s adherence to strictly following the doctor’s recommendations help exclude local complications and side effects.