New perspectives for the treatment of Dry Eye Disease: use of mesenchymal stem cells from immature dental pulp

Abstract

The Dry Eye Disease (DED) is a serious public health problem, since it affects a large part of the population, being mostly women over 45 years old. This disease is divided into water deficiency and evaporative type. DED has different degrees of severity and respective conventional and alternative treatments, which still have limitations. Recent studies demonstrate the efficiency of mesenchymal stem cells in the treatment of diseases, through cell therapies. Thus, the present study aims to evaluate the use of mesenchymal stem cells from immature dental pulp for the treatment of DED. The stem cells will be obtained from a voluntary donor, expanded in the laboratory and applied in a single dose in an experimental model of dry eye. The animals will be separated into different groups with different degrees of disease involvement to assess their potential for prevention and reversal. The clinical evaluation of the mice will be performed for keratitis and tear production, by staining the ocular surface (with Fluorescein) and testing the red phenol, in addition to blood glucose measurement. After 7, 15 and 30 days of cell transplantation, the animals will be sacrificed and the ocular tissues will be evaluated through histological analysis, immunofluorescence, apoptosis assay and PCR Array to evaluate gene expression of inflammatory and other markers.