Reconstructing ocular surfaces with limbal stem cells supported by porous composite hydrogels
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ABSTRACT: Simple limbal epithelial transplantation (SLET) is a novel in vivo limbal stem cells (LSCs) amplification technique used to reconstruct the ocular surface in¬¬¬ limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD). However, SLET is limited to two-dimensional (2D) culture systems, and the tissue pieces are easily lost. The developments in hydrogel technology have provided the possibility of three-dimensional (3D) amplification of stem cells. In this study, an injectable photocrosslinkable hydrogel was developed based on porous gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA)/silk fibroin glycidyl methacrylate (SilMA), allowing the 3D culture of LSCs with enhanced expansion efficiency and simplified serial cell culture operations to construct an ocular surface with a uniform cell distribution. The porous GelMA/SilMA hydrogels demonstrated excellent transparency and good adhesion. More importantly, this hydrogel maintained the viability and supported the adhesion of the encapsulated rabbit LSCs and promoted their migration in vitro in 3D culture environments. Furthermore, the immunofluorescence staining results showed positive expression of CK3, CK12, P63 and CK14 in differentiated cells. The above results demonstrated that this porous GelMA/SilMA hydrogel 3D culture of LSCs is beneficial for maintaining the phenotype of stem cells and promoting their differentiation into corneal epithelial cells. These findings provide valuable insights into stem cell therapies and regenerative medicine for ocular surface reconstruction.
ORGANISM(S): Homo Sapiens
SUBMITTER: Qingjun Zhou
PROVIDER: PXD047365 | iProX | Wed Nov 29 00:00:00 GMT 2023
REPOSITORIES: iProX
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