PURPOSE To compare the effectiveness of three culture media for growth, proliferation, differentiation, and viability of ex vivo cultured limbal epithelial progenitor cells. METHODS Limbal epithelial progenitor cell cultures were established from ten human corneal rims and grew on plastic wells in three culture media: supplemental hormonal epithelial medium (SHEM), keratinocyte serum-free med...

PURPOSE Limbal stem cell deficiency is a challenging clinical problem and the current treatment involves replenishing the depleted limbal stem cell (LSC) pool by either limbal tissue transplantation or use of cultivated limbal epithelial cells (LEC). Our experience of cultivating the LEC on denuded human amniotic membrane using a feeder cell free method, led to identification of mesenchymal cel...

PURPOSE To develop a mouse model of limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) by topical administration of benzalkonium chloride (BAC). METHODS BAC solutions (0%-0.5%) were applied to the mouse ocular surface for 4 weeks. Corneal neovascularization, inflammation, and epithelial status were observed under slit-lamp microscope. The eyeball and ocular surface tissues were collected at 4 and 12 weeks an...

PURPOSE To evaluate in vitro the effect of nerve growth factor (NGF) on the differentiation of mouse corneal limbal progenitor cells into goblet cells and to observe the expression of mucin-5AC (MUC5AC) mRNA. METHODS Mouse limbal epithelial cells were cultured in a 1:1 mixture of Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium/Ham's nutrient mixture F12 in vitro, and 63-kDa protein (p63) in cultured cells...

PURPOSE Side population (SP) cells are known to reside in the limbus as putative corneal epithelial stem cells. This study was performed to demonstrate the presence and the characteristics of SP cells in the rabbit limbal epithelium and explore their sensitivity in response to the central cornea wounding. METHODS To sort out the SP cells, freshly isolated rabbit limbal and central corneal epi...

PURPOSE To isolate progenitor cells from rabbit corneal epithelial cells (CEC) in serum- and feeder layer-free culture conditions and to compare the self-renewal capacity of corneal epithelial progenitor cells obtained from the central and limbal regions of the cornea. METHODS Tissue samples of New Zealand white rabbit corneas were dissected from the limbal and central regions to obtain CEC f...

Aim: To compare the complication and recurrence rates in patients undergoing limbal conjunctival autograft with or without adjuvant cryotherapy for primary recurrent pterygia.Methods: All information about cases operated between January 2014 2019 was scanned from electronic database. Fifty-three eyes combined were classified as Group 1, 47 only 2. Any development of new fibrovascular tissue lim...

Dear Editor, In the treatment of unilateral total limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD), conjunctival limbal autograft (CLAU) surgery taken from the healthy fellow eye with or without amniotic membrane transplantation (AMT) is one of the main therapeutic alternatives. There are some controversies regarding the optimal size of the limbal graft necessary for complete and stable epithelialization of ...