Li Wei, Hayashida Yasutaka, Chen Ying-Ting, Tseng Scheffer C G
Ocular Surface Center and TissueTech Inc. Miami, Florida, 33173, USA.
Cell Res. 2007 Jan;17(1):26-36. doi: 10.1038/sj.cr.7310137.
Among all adult somatic stem cells, those of the corneal epithelium are unique in their exclusive location in a defined limbal structure termed Palisades of Vogt. As a result, surgical engraftment of limbal epithelial stem cells with or without ex vivo expansion has long been practiced to restore sights in patients inflicted with limbal stem cell deficiency. Nevertheless, compared to other stem cell examples, relatively little is known about the limbal niche, which is believed to play a pivotal role in regulating self-renewal and fate decision of limbal epithelial stem cells. This review summarizes relevant literature and formulates several key questions to guide future research into better understanding of the pathogenesis of limbal stem cell deficiency and further improvement of the tissue engineering of the corneal epithelium by focusing on the limbal niche.
在所有成体体细胞干细胞中，角膜上皮干细胞具有独特之处，它们唯一地位于一种特定的角膜缘结构——沃格特栅栏中。因此，长期以来，人们一直通过手术移植角膜缘上皮干细胞（无论是否进行体外扩增）来恢复患有角膜缘干细胞缺乏症患者的视力。然而，与其他干细胞实例相比，人们对角膜缘生态位的了解相对较少，而角膜缘生态位被认为在调节角膜缘上皮干细胞的自我更新和命运决定中起着关键作用。本综述总结了相关文献，并提出了几个关键问题，以指导未来的研究，通过聚焦角膜缘生态位，更好地理解角膜缘干细胞缺乏症的发病机制，并进一步改进角膜上皮组织工程。
