Brussels, 04/08/2004 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission is contributing 2.56 million euros (of a total cost of 4.37 million) to a research project on human cornea reconstruction, which could revolutionise ophthalmic surgery and help limit testing on animals for the effects of chemicals on the eye. The researchers will use tissue-engineering nanotechnologies to create a 3-dimensional human cornea in vitro. They have set an objective of replacing the external layer of the cornea to restore sight, creating a semi-cornea to replace the external half of the cornea and finally recreating the entire cornea. The project, called "Cornea Engineering" is led by a consortium of 14 research teams from nine countries (Germany, Belgium, Finland, France, Israel, Italy, the UK, Sweden and Turkey).
The increase in corrective ophthalmic surgery which makes corneas impossible to transplant has contributed to a world shortage of cornea donors. The creation of corneas through tissue-engineering will make up the shortage while at the same time reducing the risk of the transmission of infectious disease which is associated with surgery. The Cornea Engineering project aims to create a cornea using recombined human proteins obtained from a culture, which will be a perfect imitation of the natural constituents of the cornea. This should help avoid the problems encountered with artificial corneas made from artificial polymers, which often fail to graft to tissue after transplant.
The creation of corneas through tissue engineering will also help reduce the number of tests for cosmetic and pharmacological toxicity carried out on animals. The corneas created will allow fewer rabbits to be used in tests of the effects of chemical substances on the eye.