Expansion and characterization of human limbus-derived stromal/mesenchymal stem cells in xeno-free medium for therapeutic applications.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been proven to prevent and clear corneal scarring and limbal stem cell deficiency. However, using animal-derived serum in a culture medium raises the ethical and regulatory bar. This study aims to expand and characterize human limbus-derived stromal/mesenchymal stem cells (hLMSCs) for the first time in vitro in the xeno-free medium.

Methods

Limbal tissue was obtained from therapeutic grade corneoscleral rims and subjected to explant culture till tertiary passage in media with and without serum (STEM MACS XF; SM), to obtain pure hLMSCs. Population doubling time, cell proliferation, expression of phenotypic markers, tri-lineage differentiation, colony-forming potential and gene expression analysis were carried out to assess the ret

SUBMITTER: Sahoo A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10105964 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature