Protective Effect of Conditioned Medium from Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells on the Cornea of Rabbits with Impaired Blink Reflex.

Abstract

We studied the efficiency of a conditioned medium containing the secretome of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in preventing corneal damage in rabbits using an experimental model of dry eye syndrome caused by impaired blinking reflex. The conditioned medium produced a pronounced protective effect on the epithelial layer of the cornea of rabbits and suppressed the activation of MMP-9 in the tear film. As is known, an increase in MMP-9 activity leads to degradation of extracellular matrix components and disruption of the corneal epithelial barrier function. Our results indicate the possibility of using the bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell secretome in the treatment of dry eye syndrome.