1. Academic Validation
  2. Tetrahedral Framework Nucleic Acids Promote Corneal Epithelial Wound Healing in Vitro and in Vivo

Tetrahedral Framework Nucleic Acids Promote Corneal Epithelial Wound Healing in Vitro and in Vivo

  • Small. 2019 Aug;15(31):e1901907. doi: 10.1002/smll.201901907.
Nanxin Liu 1 2 Xiaolin Zhang 1 Ni Li 3 Mi Zhou 1 Tianxu Zhang 1 Songhang Li 1 Xiaoxiao Cai 1 Ping Ji 2 Yunfeng Lin 1
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, P. R. China.
  • 2 Stomatological Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 401147, P. R. China.
  • 3 Department of Ophthalmology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, P. R. China.
Abstract

Poor post-traumatic wound healing can affect the normal function of damaged tissues and organs. For example, poor healing of corneal epithelial injuries may lead to permanent visual impairment. It is of great importance to find a therapeutic way to promote wound closure. Tetrahedral framework nucleic acids (tFNAs) are new promising nanomaterials, which can affect the biological behavior of cells. In the experiment, corneal wound healing is used as an example to explore the effect of tFNAs on wound healing. Results show that the proliferation and migration of human corneal epithelial cells are enhanced by exposure to tFNAs in vitro, possibly relevant to the activation of P38 and ERK1/2 signaling pathway. An animal model of corneal alkali burn is established to further identify the facilitation effect of tFNAs on corneal wound healing in vivo. Clinical evaluations and histological analyses show that tFNAs can improve the corneal transparency and accelerate the re-epithelialization of wounds. Both in vitro and in vivo experiments show that tFNAs can play a positive role in corneal epithelial wound healing.

Keywords

alkali burns; cell migration; cell proliferation; corneal epithelial wound healing; tFNAs.

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