Abstract
AbstractThis study was conducted to perform global transcriptomic profiling and biomarker discovery on undisturbed human corneal epithelial subpopulations using a novel approach combining laser capture microdissection (LCM) and RNA sequencing. LCM facilitated the harvest of four cellular compartments along the corneal epithelial differentiation pathway: Stroma, basal limbal crypt (BLC), superficial limbal crypt (SLC), and cornea. Compartments were analyzed using massive parallel sequencing and bioinformatics. Specificity of LCM was confirmed by imaging, expression of epithelial markers, and gene ontology analysis of biological processes. Interestingly, many significant upregulated genes in SLC mapped to processes involved in regulation of vasculature like sFLT1. In contrast, BLC had many upregulated genes mapping to neurogenic and developmental processes. The primitive nature of BLC was confirmed by KEGG pathway analysis. We present full gene lists of unique expressed genes in both BLC and cornea representing candidate biomarkers. Possible novel regulators of limbal epithelial stem cells (LESCs) include Lrig1 and SOX9. The presented molecular insight in LESC biology is expected to be beneficial for both research and clinical translation.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
