Kitao Masahiro, Hayashi Ryuhei, Nomi Kimihito, Kobayashi Reiko, Katayama Tomohiko, Takayanagi Hiroshi, Oguchi Akiko, Murakawa Yasuhiro, Nishida Kohji
Department of Ophthalmology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
Department of Stem Cells and Applied Medicine, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
iScience. 2023 Jun 5;26(7):107016. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107016. eCollection 2023 Jul 21.
The conjunctival epithelium consists of conjunctival epithelial cells and goblet cells derived from conjunctival epithelial stem/progenitor cells. However, the source of these cells is not well known because no specific markers for conjunctival epithelial stem/progenitor cells have been discovered. Therefore, to identify conjunctival epithelial stem/progenitor cell markers, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing of a conjunctival epithelial cell population derived from human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs). The following conjunctival epithelial markers were identified: BST2, SLC2A3, AGR2, TMEM54, OLR1, and TRIM29. Notably, BST2 was strongly positive in the basal conjunctival epithelium, which is thought to be rich in stem/progenitor cells. Moreover, BST2 was able to sort conjunctival epithelial stem/progenitor cells from hiPSC-derived ocular surface epithelial cell populations. BST2-positive cells were highly proliferative and capable of successfully generating conjunctival epithelial sheets containing goblet cells. In conclusion, BST2 has been identified as a specific marker of conjunctival epithelial stem/progenitor cells.
结膜上皮由结膜上皮细胞和源自结膜上皮干细胞/祖细胞的杯状细胞组成。然而，这些细胞的来源尚不清楚，因为尚未发现结膜上皮干细胞/祖细胞的特异性标志物。因此，为了鉴定结膜上皮干细胞/祖细胞标志物，我们对源自人诱导多能干细胞（hiPSC）的结膜上皮细胞群体进行了单细胞RNA测序。鉴定出了以下结膜上皮标志物：BST2、SLC2A3、AGR2、TMEM54、OLR1和TRIM29。值得注意的是，BST2在结膜基底上皮中呈强阳性，而结膜基底上皮被认为富含干细胞/祖细胞。此外，BST2能够从hiPSC衍生的眼表上皮细胞群体中分离出结膜上皮干细胞/祖细胞。BST2阳性细胞具有高度增殖能力，能够成功生成含有杯状细胞的结膜上皮片。总之，BST2已被鉴定为结膜上皮干细胞/祖细胞的特异性标志物。
