PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to identify phenotypic markers of human limbal stem cells in fetal and adult corneas. METHODS RNA from microscopically dissected superficial limbal and central fetal (18 weeks) corneas was amplified and used to generate P(32)-labeled, reverse-transcribed antisense RNA that was linearly amplified and hybridized to a focused stem cell cDNA microarray. Diffe...

OBJECTIVE To describe the early results of penetrating keratoplasty (PKP) in patients who had previously undergone cultivated limbal epithelium transplantation. METHODS Medical records of patients with limbal stem cell deficiency due to chemical burns who underwent PKP after cultivated limbal epithelium transplantation were reviewed for demographics, primary etiology, type of limbal transplan...

Corneal epithelium is traditionally thought to be a self-sufficient, self-renewing tissue implying that its stem cells are located in its basal cell layer. Recent studies indicate however that corneal epithelial stem cells reside in the basal layer of peripheral cornea in the limbal zone, and that corneal and conjunctival epithelia represent distinct cell lineages. These ideas are supported by ...

We report 2 cases illustrating the use of a new technique to manage vitreous loss during phacoemulsification, which we have termed 'trimanual' anterior vitrectomy. In each case, after recognizing posterior capsule tear, the remaining nuclear pieces were removed with low-parameter phacoemulsification. The remaining cortical material was then removed using bimanual irrigation and aspiration handp...

Limbal epithelial stem cells (LESCs) are essential to maintain the transparent ocular surface required for vision. Despite great advances in our understanding of ocular stem cell biology over the last decade, the exact location of the LESC niche remains unclear. In the present study we have used in vitro clonal analysis to confirm that limbal crypts provide a niche for the resident LESCs. We ha...

Nerve growth factor (NGF), a member of the neurotrophin family, has been identified as an essential growth factor supporting stem cell self-renewal outside the nervous system and was previously shown to stimulate corneal epithelial proliferation both in vivo and in vitro. In this study, we evaluated the expression of NGF and its corresponding receptors in the human corneal and limbal tissues, a...

Accumulating evidence supports the dogma that the corneal epithelium is regenerated by stem cells located exclusively in the limbal niche, at the corneal periphery. Accordingly, limbal stem cells (LSCs) give rise to progenitors that proliferate and migrate centripetally to repopulate the corneal epithelium, which has a short turnover. Moreover, LSC loss leads to corneal opacity and blindness, w...

The limbal epithelial cells can be maintained on 3T3 feeder layer with fetal bovine serum supplemented culture medium, and these cells have been used to successfully treat limbal stem cell deficiency. However, fetal bovine serum contains unknown components and displays quantitative and qualitative lot-to-lot variations. To improve the culture condition, the defined KnockOut serum replacement wa...

PURPOSE The management of severe ocular surface disease due to limbal stem cell deficiency has changed dramatically. The concept of limbal stem cells, as the source of corneal epithelium revolutionised the therapeutic approach of ocular surface reconstruction. Deficiency of limbal stem cells results in blinding ocular surface diseases. Grafting viable limbal tissue, from either fellow healthy e...

PURPOSE To report a case of beta-hemolytic streptococcal endophthalmitis following crane-pecking injury. CASE REPORT A twelve-year-old boy was brought to us by his father with history of crane beak injury in his right eye. On examination, his vision was 6/24 Snellen's acuity. Anterior segment examination showed a full thickness two mm corneo-limbal tear at 1 o'clock with iris prolapse. Pupil ...