Corneal and conjunctival epithelial stem cells are responsible for the homeostasis and regeneration of the ocular surface epithelium. Corneal epithelial stem cells reside in the basal region of the limbus, while the conjunctival forniceal region appears to be the site that is enriched in conjunctival stem cells. Ocular surface disease arising from limbal stem cell deficiency is characterised by...

PURPOSE Limbal fibroblasts are known to regulate the maintenance and differentiation of the corneal epithelium including the limbal epithelial stem cells. This study examined the effect of limbal fibroblast conditioned media in a mouse model of limbal stem cell deficiency. METHODS Limbal stem cell deficiency was created in C57/Bl6 mice by performing a limbus to limbus epithelial debridement. ...

The most difficult part in ocular surface reconstruction for total limbal stem cell deficiency is restoring a healthy and stable corneal epithelium. Recently, there has been a shift toward a cellular-based transplantation that eliminates the need for harvesting large amounts of limbal tissues from a living donor. The autologous oral epithelium can be used as a source for ocular surface reconstr...

PURPOSE To determine whether Notch-1, a ligand-activated transmembrane receptor known to maintain cells in an undifferentiated state, primarily progenitor cells in other systems, could be used as a stem cell marker in human limbal epithelium. METHODS Human corneoscleral tissues obtained from the Doheny Eye & Tissue Transplant Bank were prepared for cross section and whole mount analysis. Tiss...

introduction to evaluate the expression patterns of cytokeratin (k) 12, 13, and 19 in normal epithelium of the human ocular surface to determine whether k13 could be used as a marker for conjunctival epithelium. methods: total rna was isolated from the human conjunctiva and central cornea. those transcripts that had threefolds or higher expression levels in the conjunctiva than the cornea were ...

PURPOSE To report our experience managing a limbal mass associated with limbal vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) by surgical excision. METHODS A 16-year-old girl was referred to our hospital with the chief complaints of itching and photophobia in both eyes. She had a 2-year history of gradually enlarging limbal gelatinous masses on the temporal limbus in both eyes, which were diagnosed as lim...

The cornea is the outermost tissue of the eye and it must be transparent for the maintenance of good visual function. The superficial epithelium of the cornea, which is renewed continuously by corneal stem cells, plays a critical role in the permanence of this transparency. These stem cells are localized at the cornea-conjunctival transition zone, referred to as the limbus. When this zone is af...

PURPOSE The presence of multipotent human limbal stromal cells resembling mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) provides new insights to the characteristic of these cells and its therapeutic potential. However, little is known about the expression of stage-specific embryonic antigen 4 (SSEA-4) and the embryonic stem cell (ESC)-like properties of these cells. We studied the expression of SSEA-4 surfac...

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES Cultivated limbal stem cell transplantation is being used as a current treatment modality for limbal stem cell deficiency. However, use of allogenic biological material as substrate is associated with risks of transmission of certain diseases and allograft rejection. Therefore development of non-toxic biodegradable synthetic polymers is important. We undertook this study...

Limbal rings are dark annuli encircling the iris that fluctuate in visibility based on health and age. Research also indicates their presence augments facial attractiveness. Given individuals' prioritization of health cues in short-term mates, those with limbal rings may be implicated as ideal short-term mates. Three studies tested whether limbal rings serve as veridical health cues, specifical...