Giuseppina Perrella Author

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Cultured Human Keratocytes from the Limbus and Cornea Both Express Epithelial Cytokeratin 3: Possible Mesenchymal-Epithelial Transition

Author(s):

Giuseppina Perrella, Cathryn Anne Scott, Renza Spelat, Paolo Brusini, Federica D?Aurizio, Ilaria De Pol and Harminder Singh Dua

The corneal limbus is the repository of epithelial stem cells (SC) that sustain the turnover of corneal epithelial cells. The limbus stroma contains mesenchymal SC that generates stromal keratocytes. Mesenchymal-epithelial transition is a phenomenon wherein cells of mesenchymal phenotype can transdifferentiate to epithelial phenotype. Our aim was to study whether limbal keratocytes, cytokeratin 3 (CK3) negative, could be induced to transdifferentiate into CK3 positive cells.

Human keratocytes were isolated from the limbus and cornea of cadaver donors, cultured and evaluated for CD3... view more»

DOI: 10.4172/2324-8599.1000101

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