Nickells Lab
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences

Whole Eye Transplantation

Cold Storage Solution for Whole Eye Transplantation

It is not possible to successfully transplant whole eyes from a donor to a recipient, mostly because removal of the donor eye damages the optic nerve and stimulates the process of axonal degeneration and retinal ganglion cell death. Even if the ganglion cells survive, there is a problem with getting them to regenerate axons to appropriate visual centers in the brain. The Nickells lab is involved in a consortium with transplant specialists at the University of Colorado to overcome these barriers. Early studies now show that storage of the donor eyes in the “University of Wisconsin cold storage solution” can help preserve the ganglion cells and make them more receptive to signals that initiate axon regeneration. In this work, we systematically modify UW solution (mUW) with reagents designed to protect the ganglion cells. If successful, this work could open up dramatic new strategies to reverse multiple forms of blindness.

Side-by-side slides of a frozen retina that compares methods.
Histopathology of the retina from enucleated mouse eyes that were stored for 24 hours in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) or modified UW solution (mUW) containing reagents designed to minimize retinal ganglion cell apoptosis. The retinas of eyes stored in PBS show swelling (edema) in all retinal layers, while this effect is dramatically mitigated by the mUW solution. ONL, outer nuclear layer (photoreceptors); INL, inner nuclear layer (interneurons); GCL, ganglion cell layer.

 

Selected Reading

  1. Southard JH, Belzer FO. Organ preservation. Ann Rev Med. 1995;46:235-47.
  2. Bourne D, Li Y, Komatsu C, Miller MR, Davidson EH, He L, et al. Whole-eye transplantation: a look into the past and vision for the future. Eye. 2017;31:179-84.
  3. Washington KM, Solari MG, Sacks JM, Horibe EK, Unadkat JV, Carvell GE, et al. A model for functional recovery and cortical reintegration after hemifacial composite tissue allotransplantation. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2009;123:26S-33S.