Transcriptomic Landscape and Functional Characterization of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Limbal Epithelial Progenitor Cells.

ABSTRACT: Limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) is a complex, multifactorial disease affecting limbal epithelial progenitor cells (LEPC), which are essential for maintaining corneal stability and transparency. Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived (hiPSC-) LEPC are a promising cell source for the treatment of LSCD. However, their similarity to native tissue-derived (T-) LEPC and their functional characterization has not been studied in detail. Here, we show that hiPSC-LEPC and T-LEPC have rather similar gene expression patterns, colony-forming ability, wound-healing capacity, and melanosome uptake. In addition, hiPSC-LEPC exhibited lower immunogenicity and reduced the proliferation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells compared with T-LEPC. Similarly, the hiPSC-LEPC secretome reduced the prolifer

SUBMITTER: Polisetti N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9737332 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature