Epidermal adult stem cells possess the capacity to activate corneal genetic programs in response to corneal stromal stimuli

杨学义   姜发纲   冯秀亮

洛阳师范学院生命科学系   华中科技大学同济医学院附属协和医院眼科   解放军第四军医大学西京医院实验外科   471022

PURPOSE：To examine whether epidermal stem cells possess the capacity to activate corneal genetic programs in respone to corneal stromal stimuli.

METHODS：EpiASC derived from male adult goat skin by explant culture were then purified by selecting single cell-derived clones.EpiASC cultivated on denuded human amniotic membrane and successfully transplanted these artificial tissues in female goats with total LSCD，and analysed the expression profile of several differentiation markers both of skin/corneal epithelium，including Ck1，CK12，and Pax-6 by both lasing confocal microscopy and RT-PCR.

RESUILTS：11 LSCD goats were consecutively treated with this approach，leading to restoration of 71.43%(8/11)corneal transparency and improvement of postoperative visual acuity.The reconstructed corneal epithelium expressed Ck12 and Pax-6，not CK 1，and SRY gene could be observed by RT-PCR.

CONCLSION：Epidermal adult stem cells possess the capacity to activate corneal genetic programs in response to corneal stromal stimuli.