2017 Volume 63 Issue 1 Pages 2-7
Corneal transplantation is the most commonly performed tissue transplantation worldwide. Despite very high (above 90%) survival rates in recipients with nonvascularized and noninflamed graft beds, survival rates significantly decline (under 50%) when grafts are placed onto vascularized or inflamed host beds associated with conditions such as previous graft rejection, infection, or trauma. These results are seen despite treatment with high doses of nonspecific immunosuppressive medications, which often do not promote long-term survival. Therefore, new strategies are required to modulate the immune system without conventional immunosuppressive agents and improve transplant survival in “high-risk” patients with inflamed host beds. Regulatory T-cells (Treg) are key modulators of the immune response and may play a crucial role in a new therapy for high-risk corneal transplantation.
Here we introduce the murine high-risk corneal transplantation model and review the implications of Tregs for corneal transplantation.
