Therapeutic efficacy of bovine serum albumin-riboflavin-retinoic acid formulated hydrogel on corneal wound healing and progenitor cell remodeling: An ex vivo study

Abstract Background The recovery of injured corneas requires both epithelial regeneration and stromal repair, and the formulated biomaterials established to repair damaged corneas can be utilized in regenerative medicine. The challenge is incorporating biomaterials with host tissue and cellular delivery, preventing rapid material degradation and maintaining corneal transparency. Methods Bovine serum albumin (BSA)-riboflavin-retinoic acid (BHG) hydrogel was prepared by dissolving riboflavin, retinoic acid and 2.5% glutaraldehyde. The camel corneoscleral ring with a wound (8 mm diameter and 250 µm deep) was put on dome-shaped agarose, which was placed into 6-well plates containing BHG + serum-free Medium 199. The plateswere incubated at 37°C for 0, 24, 48 or 72 hours. The corneoscleral rings were processed and processedfor histopathology, electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry. Results Histology and electron microscopy revealed that the development of all epithelial layers, basement membrane and anterior stroma was faster in the BHG-treated wounds than in thenontreated wounded corneas at 72 hours. Fibronectin expression was greaterand α-smooth muscle actin expression was lower in the BHG-treated corneas than inthe nontreated wounded corneas. The BHG-treated wounds healed faster than the nontreated wounds did. Conclusion According to the present findings, we believe that BHG treatment upregulates the transglutaminase-2 (TG2) enzyme, leading to the regeneration of epithelial cells, and Wnt-β-catenin signaling, which promotes stromal cells. Hence, BHG is a promising therapeutic hydrogel for healing wounded corneas, and further studies on corneal wound healing and progenitor cellremodeling in an in vivo modelare needed.