Abstract
Corneal and limbal epithelial function is highly dependent on its underlying matrix. In this study, we report the in vitro and in vivo effects of a decellularized limbal matrix on corneal and limbal epithelial differentiation and repair. We demonstrate that a limbal matrix helps to maintain epithelial cells in a more proliferative and less differentiated state. We introduce a novel focal injury model to the limbus using an excimer laser and further show that transplanting a decellularized limbal graft after the limbal injury helps to promote epithelialization and reduce corneal haze formation. These results suggest that a decellularized limbal graft may be therapeutically beneficial in clinical cases of focal limbal deficiency.
Highlights
The corneal epithelium forms a barrier that is critical to the integrity and clarity of the cornea
The corneal epithelium is maintained by a reservoir of stem and progenitor cells that are located in the limbal region—the junction between the cornea and the sclera [1,2,3,4]
We extend our previous experiments by first showing that cells grown over a decellularized limbal matrix maintain a more limbal phenotype when compared to cells cultured over the central cornea
Summary
The corneal epithelium forms a barrier that is critical to the integrity and clarity of the cornea. Limbal epithelial cells are expanded in vitro and transplanted to the diseased corneal surface [13, 14]. Various substrates for culturing corneal epithelial cells have been reported [15,16,17]. Human amniotic membrane is the most common substrate and carrier for ex vivo cultured human corneal epithelial cells [18, 19]. We reported the use of a decellularized cornea as a matrix for expanding corneal cells in vitro [20]. We demonstrated that decellularized human corneas provide a scaffold that can support the growth of corneal epithelial cells and stromal fibroblasts
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