Calonge Margarita, Nieto-Miguel Teresa, de la Mata Ana, Galindo Sara, Herreras José M, López-Paniagua Marina
IOBA (Institute of Applied Ophthalmobiology), University of Valladolid, 47011 Valladolid, Spain.
CIBER-BBN (Biomedical Research Networking Center in Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine), Carlos III National Institute of Health, 47002 Valladolid, Spain.
Pharmaceutics. 2021 Sep 16;13(9):1483. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics13091483.
Corneal failure is a highly prevalent cause of blindness. One special cause of corneal failure occurs due to malfunction or destruction of the limbal stem cell niche, upon which the superficial cornea depends for homeostatic maintenance and wound healing. Failure of the limbal niche is referred to as limbal stem cell deficiency. As the corneal epithelial stem cell niche is easily accessible, limbal stem cell-based therapy and regenerative medicine applied to the ocular surface are among the most highly advanced forms of this novel approach to disease therapy. However, the challenges are still great, including the development of cell-based products and understanding how they work in the patient's eye. Advances are being made at the molecular, cellular, and tissue levels to alter disease processes and to reduce or eliminate blindness. Efforts must be coordinated from the most basic research to the most clinically oriented projects so that cell-based therapies can become an integrated part of the therapeutic armamentarium to fight corneal blindness. We undoubtedly are progressing along the right path because cell-based therapy for eye diseases is one of the most successful examples of global regenerative medicine.
角膜衰竭是导致失明的一个高度常见原因。角膜衰竭的一个特殊原因是角膜缘干细胞微环境出现功能故障或遭到破坏,而表层角膜的稳态维持和伤口愈合依赖于该微环境。角膜缘微环境功能衰竭被称为角膜缘干细胞缺乏。由于角膜上皮干细胞微环境易于接近,基于角膜缘干细胞的疗法以及应用于眼表的再生医学是这种新型疾病治疗方法中最先进的形式之一。然而,挑战仍然很大,包括细胞产品的开发以及了解它们在患者眼中的作用机制。目前在分子、细胞和组织层面都取得了进展,以改变疾病进程并减少或消除失明。必须从最基础的研究到最面向临床的项目进行协调努力,以便基于细胞的疗法能够成为对抗角膜盲的治疗手段的一个组成部分。毫无疑问,我们正沿着正确的道路前进,因为针对眼部疾病的细胞疗法是全球再生医学最成功的范例之一。