Modeling Diabetic Keratopathy within an In Vitro Silk-Based Corneal Scaffold
Deardorff, Phillip.
2017
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Abstract: Diabetes
mellitus (DM) is a disease defined by either an innate or acquired insulin deficiency,
significantly effecting glucose metabolism and resulting in high blood glucose. Due to
total disease prevalence, related medical costs and acceleration in diagnosed cases each
year, a need has arisen to devise alternative systems for diabetic studies. Therefore,
research provided herein ... read moreaims to develop a sophisticated and accurate approach to
modeling diabetic keratopathy, a peripheral neuropathy in the cornea. The study employs
the use of an innervated 3D corneal scaffold consisting of silk materials and collagen
hydrogel to mimic in vivo corneal structure. A range of high glucose treatments was used
to assess hyperglycemic damage in vitro, and determine the most appropriate
concentration. Cell morphology, length and density of axons, gene expression of diabetic
and extracellular matrix (ECM) markers and advanced glycation end-product (AGE) protein
concentrations were used to determine the accuracy of the system in resembling the
disease state. By comparing these metrics to in vivo studies, preliminary investigation
indicated promise when using 45 mM glucose supplemented medium to model keratopathy
within the corneal scaffold.
Thesis (M.S.)--Tufts University, 2017.
Submitted to the Dept. of Biomedical Engineering.
Advisor: David Kaplan.
Committee: David Kaplan, Kenneth Kenyon, and Xiaocheng Jiang.
Keyword: Biomedical engineering.read less - ID:
- 8s45qn197
- Component ID:
- tufts:24147
- To Cite:
- TARC Citation Guide EndNote
