Figure 2.

Overview of the concept of corneal bioengineering and regeneration therapy of human corneal endothelial cells (HCECs), which ultimately is aimed at alleviating the global shortage in donor cornea tissues. General steps have been summarized. (a) The corneal endothelial cell sources: primary cells isolated from a donor cornea, immortalized cell lines, or stem cells. (b) In vitro cell expansion is the next step with the necessity to maintain healthy phenotype and morphology. The delivery system of the expanded corneal endothelial cells to the posterior corneal surface is achieved using (c) cell injection therapy or (d) using various types of biomaterials to fabricate corneal endothelial cell scaffold. (e) The implantation stage of the cultured scaffold into the anterior chamber through a similar DMEK/DSAEK transplantation. (f) Parallel studies on the scaffold are carried out to investigate whether the scaffold is working effectively. (g) Corneal bioengineering and regeneration therapy can alleviate the shortage of native corneas and help improve the quality of life for many patients who are waiting their turn for cornea tissue transplantation.

Source: Author’s illustration.