Abstract
In this issue of Stem Cell Reports, Park et al. (2019) describe real-time in vivo visual monitoring of keratin-14+, Confetti-labeled limbal epithelial stem cells and their progeny as they contribute to central corneal wound-healing. The authors show that corneal wounds initially heal by “basal epithelial cell migration” into the wound-bed.
Highlights
Acute damage to the corneal epithelial cells can be caused by direct trauma from, for example, chemical burns, microbial invasion, ultraviolet radiation, severe dehydration, or direct physical damage
What are the exact epithelial cells that migrate centripetally? It is clear that the limbal epithelial stem cells (LESCs) are clinically important because loss of limbal stem cells results in conjunctivalization of the cornea, vascularization, inflammation, and loss of corneal transparency
The authors suggest that central corneal wounds in mice initially heal by ‘‘basal cell migration’’ from the limbus, and they visualize this by real-time imaging of the elevated clonal activity emanating from the limbus, along with basal limbal epithelia, pressed into the wound-bed
Summary
Acute damage to the corneal epithelial cells can be caused by direct trauma from, for example, chemical burns, microbial invasion, ultraviolet radiation, severe dehydration, or direct physical damage. Wounds heal in the presence of an intact limbal epithelium, and derivative progeny migrate centripetally to regenerate the central corneal epithelium.
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