The Ultrastructure And Apoptosis Of Preserved Smile-Derived Corneal Stromal Lenticules Under Different Preservation Conditions
Published 2025 - 43rd Congress of the ESCRS
Reference: FP10.03 | Type: Free paper | DOI: 10.82333/x8fp-ca72
Authors: Nina Špegel* 1 , Ana Gornik 1 , Špela Štunf Pukl 1 , Petra Schollmayer 1 , Vladimir Pfeifer 1
1Department of Ophthalmology ,Eye Hospital Ljubljana,Ljubljana,Slovenia
Purpose
To investigate the ultrastructure and apoptosis of SMILE lenticules under different preservation conditions.
Setting
The study was in accordance with the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Eye and ENT Hospital of Fudan University. Written informed consent was acquired from all patients. A total of 104 lenticules of 52 patients who underwent SMILE operation in the Eye and ENT Hospital of Fudan University (Shanghai, China) from July 2023 to November 2023 were recruited in this study.
Methods
A total of 104 corneal stromal lenticules of 52 patients (male: female 13:39, age 28.85±6.45 years, mean spherical error -4.27±1.34 D) were collected from small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) surgeries, and were immediately preserved in glycerol, silicone oil, Optisol and cryopreservation for 1 day, 1 week and 1 month. Fresh lenticules were taken as control groups. Hematein-eosin (HE) staining and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were applied for evaluation of ultrastructure and terminal-deoxynucleoitidyl transferase mediated nick end labeling (TUNEL) for cell apoptosis ratio. Changes of quantity of collagen in TEM were evaluated in each group among all time points.
Results
HE staining showed that collagen in the fresh lenticules arranged orderly with few vacuoles. In each preservation group, vacuoles and changes in arrangement of collagen were observed. TEM showed that the density of collagen in glycerol, silicone oil, and cryopreservation groups were lowest at 1 month, while highest at 1 month in Optisol group. At the same storage time, the number of collagen was the highest in cryopreservation group for 1 day and the highest in Optisol group for 1 month, and there was no statistically significant difference among those preserved for 1 week. There was no statistically significant difference in apoptotic cell ratio among groups.
Conclusions
SMILE lenticules preserved in glycerol, silicone oil, Optisol and cryopreservation within 1 month maintein a similar cell viability level as fresh lenticules.