PURPOSE The adult rabbit limbal basal epithelium contains corneal epithelial stem cells, which have been characterized by a negative expression of keratin-3 (K3) and a lower expression of connexin 43 (Cx43). This study was conducted to determine whether the limbal stroma dictates the plasticity of limbal and corneal epithelial differentiation. METHODS Viable epithelial sheets of the central c...

PURPOSE The presence of multipotent human limbal stromal cells resembling mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) provides new insights to the characteristic of these cells and its therapeutic potential. However, little is known about the expression of stage-specific embryonic antigen 4 (SSEA-4) and the embryonic stem cell (ESC)-like properties of these cells. We studied the expression of SSEA-4 surfac...

Peripheral corneal ulcers can still pose difficult clinical problems despite therapeutic advances such as specific antimicrobial agents, collagenase inhibitors, heparin, ocular lubricants, biological adhesives, and soft contact lenses. This paper reports the healing of several types of progressive marginal ulcers after the excision and recession of adjacent limbal conjunctiva (limbal conjunctiv...

PURPOSE Limbal epithelial stem cell deficiency is caused by exposure of the cornea to thermal, chemical, or radiation burns or by diseases (aniridia and Stevens-Johnson syndrome). Autologous cell transplantation is a widely used therapeutic modality for restoring the corneal surface in such pathological conditions. Ex vivo cultured limbal, conjunctival, and oral biopsies have been widely used t...

: Limbal stem cell (LSC) deficiency is a visually debilitating condition caused by abnormal maintenance of LSCs. It is treated by transplantation of donor-derived limbal epithelial cells (LECs), the success of which depends on the presence and quality of LSCs within the transplant. Understanding the immunobiological responses of these cells within the transplants could improve cell engraftment ...

Purpose Progenitor cells of the limbal epithelium reside in a discrete area peripheral to the more differentiated corneal epithelium and maintain tissue homeostasis. What regulates the limbal-corneal epithelial boundary is a major unanswered question. Ephrin-A1 ligand is enriched in the limbal epithelium, whereas EphA2 receptor is concentrated in the corneal epithelium. This reciprocal pattern ...

AIM To describe a surgical technique for autologous limbal stem cell transplantation and the outcome of a series of patients with unilateral stem cell deficiency. METHODS A report of six consecutive patients who underwent autologous limbal stem cell transplantation is presented. The primary diagnosis included alkali burn (n=3), conjunctival intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) (n=1), recurrent pte...

AIM To determine the immunohistochemical characteristics of putative corneal epithelial stem cells remaining on limbal explants maintained in culture. METHODS Human limbal explant cultures were generated from 25 residual corneoscleral donor rims following penetrating keratoplasty. Serial sections of these explants were studied using immunohistochemical techniques with a panel of antibodies, o...

Corneal epithelium is maintained throughout life by well-orchestrated proliferation of limbal epithelial stem cells, followed by migration and maturation centripetally across the ocular surface. The present study sets out to explore the role tissue stiffness (compliance) may have in directing both differentiation and centripetal migration of limbal epithelial stem cells during homeostasis. For ...