In this experimental study we used for the first time Tiprotec^® as a solution for corneal preservation and cold storage. We compared the resultant endothelial cell morphology and viability with this obtained after preservation of the ex-vivo corneas with both usual standard techniques: conventional cold storage (using Eusol-C) and organ culture. This prospective, in vitro, 3-armed parallel study was performed with the use of 90 porcine corneas (examined for their endothelial quality and transparency) randomly selected for preservation in three storage methods (each 30 corneas): organ culture, standard cold storage (Eusol-C) and experimental cold storage (Tiprotec^®) Endothelium cell quantity and quality as well as corneal opacification were assessed. The degree of endothelial transparency was significantly reduced over time with all preservation media, without any significant difference among the three groups at any point of time. A reduction in endothelial cell density was also observed with all three preservation media after 30 days of storage without statistically significant differences between groups. The number of hexagonal and pentagonal endothelium cells was significantly reduced overtime in all media with significantly more hexagonal and pentagonal in the organ culture group compared to the cold storage groups. We could show that the cryopreservation medium Tiprotec^®, used until now for the preservation of vascular grafts, was of similar quality compared to the medium Eusol-C for the hypothermic storage of corneal tissue for an extended period of time up to 30 days. In comparison to organic culture with culture medium KII, both Tiprotec^® and Eusol-C were found less effective in preserving endothelial cell quality, as assessed by the morphometric analysis, and viability, as assessed by the degree of vacuolization at least up to the 30th day of storage. However, both, Tiprotec^®- and Eusol-C-preserved corneas demonstrated a certain capacity to recover after their submission in organ culture.

中文翻译：

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一种用于低温保存角膜移植物的新存储解决方案：一项实验研究。

在本实验研究中，我们使用的第一次Tiprotec ^®作为角膜保存和冷库的解决方案。我们将所得的内皮细胞形态和活力与通过常规标准技术（常规冷藏（使用Eusol-C）和器官培养）保存离体角膜后获得的内皮形态和活力进行了比较。这项前瞻性，体外，三臂平行研究是使用90种猪角膜（检查内皮质量和透明性）随机进行选择的，以三种保存方法（每种30种角膜）保存的：器官培养，标准冷藏（ Eusol-C）和实验冷库（Tiprotec ^®）评估了内皮细胞的数量和质量以及角膜混浊。在所有保存介质中，内皮透明性的程度均随时间显着降低，三组之间在任何时间点均无显着差异。储存30天后，所有三种保存介质的内皮细胞密度均降低，各组之间无统计学差异。在所有培养基中，六边形和五边形内皮细胞的数量随着时间的推移而显着减少，与冷藏组相比，器官培养组的六边形和五边形的内皮细胞明显更多。我们可以表明，深冷保存介质Tiprotec ^®与迄今为止用于将角膜组织低温保存长达30天的低温Eusol-C培养基相比，迄今为止用于保存血管移植物的药物具有相似的质量。相比于用培养基KII有机培养，既Tiprotec ^®和Eusol-C中发现在保持内皮细胞质量不太有效，通过形态测定分析，和生存力所评估，由空泡的程度至少达到30所评估储存之日。然而，两者Tiprotec ^® -和Eusol-C-保存角膜表现出一定的能力及其在器官培养提交后才能恢复。