AIMS To evaluate the distribution, morphometry and the postmortem changes of the central and peripheral human corneal nerves by exvivo laser-scanning confocal microscopy (EVCM). METHODS 24 eyes from 14 cadavers were retrieved at different time intervals after death and examined by EVCM. Five regions were examined in each eye: central, superior, inferior, temporal and nasal. In each region, co...

BACKGROUND Corneal renewal and repair are mediated by stem cells of the limbus, the narrow zone between the cornea and the bulbar conjunctiva. Ocular burns may destroy the limbus, causing limbal stem-cell deficiency. We investigated the long-term clinical results of cell therapy in patients with burn-related corneal destruction associated with limbal stem-cell deficiency, a highly disabling ocu...

AIM/PURPOSE OF THE STUDY To develop a one-week storage method, without serum and xenobiotics, that would maintain cell viability, morphology, and phenotype of cultured human limbal epithelial sheets. MATERIALS AND METHODS Human limbal explants were cultured on intact human amniotic membranes for two weeks. The sheets were stored in a hermetically sealed container at 23°C in either a serum-fre...

Biological effects of nerve growth factor (NGF) are mediated through receptors known as nerve growth factor receptors (NGFR), which include p75 and TrkA. This study was initiated after identifying NGFR as an up-regulated gene in the limbus by cDNA microarray analysis and we postulate that its expression may be indicative of a stem/progenitor cell phenotype. Immunohistochemistry was performed on...

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to evaluate the subset of limbal epithelial cells with greater nucleus-to-cytoplasm (N/C) ratio expressing high levels of p63 for their slow-cycling property, a characteristic feature of stem cells (SCs). METHODS Limbal and peripheral corneal explant cultures were pulse labeled with 5-5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) for 5 days, followed by a period of 3-we...

IMPORTANCE Although several reports are available on the use of conventional and cultured limbal epithelium using various substrates in the treatment of limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD), the patient populations studied have been largely adults. Thus, to our knowledge, the outcomes of this procedure exclusively in a pediatric population have not been reported previously. OBJECTIVE To report ...