Case Report

The Survival of Donor-Derived Cells in a Successfully Grafted Corneal Button 10 Years after Penetrating Keratoplasty for Lattice Dystrophy
Sun Woong Kim^{a, b}, Hwan Young Lee^d, Tae-im Kim^{b, c}, Kyoung-Jin Shin^d, Woo Ick Yang^{b, d}, Eung Kweon Kim<sup>b, c

a</sup>Department of Ophthalmology, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Soonchunhyang University Bucheon Hospital, Bucheon,
^bDepartment of Medicine, Graduate School of Yonsei University,
^cCorneal Dystrophy Research Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, and
^dDepartment of Forensic Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

Address of Corresponding Author

Ophthalmologica 2009;223:396-400 (DOI: 10.1159/000228716)

  Key Words

• Cornea transplantation
• Keratocytes
• Keratoplasty
• Lattice corneal dystrophy
• Recurrence of corneal dystrophy

  Abstract

Aims: To investigate the survival of donor-derived cells in a successfully grafted corneal button 10 years after penetrating keratoplasty for lattice dystrophy. Methods: In 1996, a 48-year-old male with lattice corneal dystrophy underwent penetrating keratoplasty 3 times in the right eye within a 3-month interval. Nine years and 7 months later, the patient underwent a fourth penetrating keratoplasty. After surgery, the previous graft was analyzed to determine the origin of the cells. The epithelium and endothelium were removed, and then the button was dissected into 5 stromal blocks measuring 2 × 1.8 mm. Tissues underwent forensic genotyping using 16 markers (amelogenin for sex chromosomes and 15 autosomal short tandem repeats). Patient buccal tissue DNA was used as a control. Results: The epithelium and buccal tissue contained identical DNA (i.e. recipient DNA). Similarly, the most peripheral stromal tissue contained only recipient DNA. In contrast, the most central stromal tissue only contained DNA of nonrecipient origin (presumably donor), while the stromal tissue between the periphery and center contained both recipient and nonrecipient DNA. Conclusions: The corneal stroma was infiltrated by surrounding recipient-derived keratocytes from the periphery. Therefore, more donor-derived cells had survived in the central stroma.

Copyright © 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel

  Author Contacts

E.K. Kim, MD, PhD
Department of Ophthalmology, Yonsei University College of Medicine
Seodaemoongu Shinchondong 134
CPO Box 8044, Seoul (Korea)
Tel. +822 2228 3570, Fax +822 312 0541, E-Mail eungkkim@yuhs.ac

  Article Information

Received: January 4, 2008
Accepted after revision: May 16, 2008
Published online: July 16, 2009
Number of Print Pages : 5
Number of Figures : 2, Number of Tables : 1, Number of References : 10