AIM: To investigate the feasibility to use a new dilation agent, hydroxyethyl starch(HES)130/0.4, as a new deswelling additive in cornea organ-culture.

METHODS: A half of 20 pairs of rabbit corneas just were cultured in ACF medium with a supplement of 10% HES 130/0.4 for 28d as the experimental group. The control was cultured in ACF for 28d and then dehydrated in 5% dextran T500 for 48h. The evaluation parameters included the endothelial cells viability, the mean corneal central thickness before and after preservation, the mean water content after storage, the corneal transparency and folding, F-actin expression of corneal endothelium using Western blotting, and the electron microscopy observation of corneal endothelial cells.

RESULTS: After storage, the mean endothelial cell density of the HES 130/0.4 experimental group was 2 371±159/mm². The experimental group also exhibited a thinner corneal thickness, better transparency and less folding compared with the control. After additional dehydration, the control became thin and transparent, however, its final endothelial cell density decreased greatly to 2 138±182/mm². F-actin could be seen in corneal endothelium of two groups using Western blotting, whose expression level achieved higher in the experiment group. The ultrastructure of endothelial cells of the experiment group remained good compared with normal cornea.

CONCLUSION: HES 130/0.4 has low toxicity, and is well tolerated for endothelial cells and can be used as a continuous supplement during organ culture. It also avoids excessive cornea swelling, simplifies the storage steps, reduces infection risk, and appears to be an alternative deswelling additive in cornea organ-culture.