Human iPS cells engender corneal epithelial stem cells with holoclone-forming capabilities.

ABSTRACT: Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) can generate a multiplicity of organoids, yet no compelling evidence currently exists as to whether or not these contain tissue-specific, holoclone-forming stem cells. Here, we show that a subpopulation of cells in a hiPSC-derived corneal epithelial cell sheet is positive for ABCB5 (ATP-binding cassette, sub-family B, member 5), a functional marker of adult corneal epithelial stem cells. These cells possess remarkable holoclone-forming capabilities, which can be suppressed by an antibody-mediated ABCB5 blockade. The cell sheets are generated from ABCB5⁺ hiPSCs that first emerge in 2D eye-like organoids around six weeks of differentiation and display corneal epithelial immunostaining characteristics and gene expression patterns, inclu

SUBMITTER: Watanabe S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8233200 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature