3D Differentiation of Bone-Marrow Derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells into the Keratocyte Lineage for Corneal Bioprinting.

ABSTRACT: Corneal stromal keratocytes (CSK) play a critical role in maintaining corneal transparency and biomechanical integrity. However, challenges in obtaining enough functional CSK limit the progress of corneal tissue engineering and bioprinting. This study presents a novel protocol for the differentiation of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (BM-MSC) into CSK-like cells, optimized for both 2D and 3D culture systems, including 3D bioprinted constructs. A key innovation of this work is the preconditioning of BM-MSC on collagen-coated plates to reduce α-SMA expression, a marker associated with myofibroblast differentiation and fibrosis. Immunofluorescence and qPCR analyses demonstrated significant upregulation of CSK-specific markers, including Lumican, Keratocan, ALDH1A1, ALDH3A1, and

SUBMITTER: Taoum A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12581885 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature