Limbal stem cells, a review of their identification and culture for clinical use |
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Authors: | Finbarr O’Sullivan Martin Clynes |
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Institution: | (1) National Institute for Cellular Biotechnology, Dublin City University, Dublin 9, Glasnevin, Ireland |
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Abstract: | The surface of the eye is covered by two distinct epithelial populations, the conjunctival and corneal epithelia. The stem
cell population for the corneal epithelia has been found to be located at the area known as the limbus. This is a narrow ring
of tissue at the transitional zone between the cornea and conjunctiva. This stem cell population is responsible for generating
transient amplifying cells which are responsible for renewing the cornea epithelia. There are currently no definitive markers
for the stem cell population in the limbus. Instead using morphological features, such as small cells with a high nucleus-to-cytoplasm
ratio, in conjunction with the presence of certain markers e.g. ΔNP63α and the absence of others, e.g. the cytokeratin pair
3 & 12, are taken as being indicative of the stem cell population. Damage can occur to the corneal epithelium due to a number
of causes including, Steven-Johnson syndrome, and chemical or thermal burns. This results in invasion of the cornea by the
conjunctival epithelium resulting in impaired vision. In 1997 Pellegrini et al. (Lancet 349, 990) successfully used cells
sheets from cultured limbal cells to successfully treat patients with corneal damage. Since then several other groups, have
successfully treated patients, using similar methods. |
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Keywords: | Limbal Cornea Stem cell Cytokeratin p63 ABC-G2 Integrin Cell culture |
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