Laminin-511-E8 promotes efficient in vitro expansion of human limbal melanocytes.

ABSTRACT: Limbal melanocytes, located in the basal epithelial layer of the corneoscleral limbus, represent essential components of the corneal epithelial stem cell niche, but, due to difficulties in their isolation and cultivation, their biological roles and potential for stem cell-based tissue engineering approaches have not been comprehensively studied. Here, we established a protocol for the efficient isolation and cultivation of pure populations of human limbal melanocytes, which could be expanded at high yield by using recombinant laminin (LN)-511-E8 as culture substrate. Co-cultivation of limbal melanocytes with limbal epithelial stem/progenitor cells on fibrin hydrogels pre-incubated with LN-511-E8 resulted in multilayered stratified epithelial constructs within ten days. By reproducing physi

SUBMITTER: Polisetti N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7338389 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature