Authors:
W. W. Kao, H. Liu, J. Zhang, C. Liu, J. V. Jester, M. Sieber, & J. Chang
Summary:
To develop a cell therapy strategy for corneal diseases, human umbilical mesenchymal stem cells
(HUMSC) were transplanted into corneas of lumican knockout (Lum-/-) mice via intrastromal
injection. Lumican is a keratansulfate proteoglycan and belongs to the small leucine rich
proteoglycan (SLRP) family in corneal stroma, and has a pivotal role in the maintenance of
corneal transparence. Lum-/- mice manifested thin and cloudy corneas due to the absence of
lumican causing the disorganization of extracellular collagenous matrix in stroma. Transplantation of HUMSC significantly improved corneal transparency and increased corneal stromal thickness in Lum-/- mice, whereas transplantation of human umbilical hematopoietic stem cells failed to do so. Histological and immune fluorescence staining revealed that HUMSC survived in mouse corneal stroma for a prolonged period of time (>3 months), and could trans-differentiate and assume keratocyte phenotypes, e.g., dendritic morophology, expression of keratocytes markers such as keratocan, aldehyde dehydrogenase, CD34 with little or no graft rejeciotn reactions. In contrast, transplanted HUHSC rapidly vanished from the mouse corneas due to graft rejection as characterized by the presence of CD45, CD90, and F4/80-positive cells. Our results suggest that transplantation of umbilical mesenchymal stem cells is a potential treatment regimen of congenital and/or acquired corneal diseases.
Source:
2009 American Society of Cell Biology (ASCB) Annual Meeting; 1694/B73, Exhibit Halls D-H, 7:30AM-6:00PM, Page 820 (12/08/09)