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Limbal Stromal Stem Cells in Corneal Wound Healing: Current Perspectives and Future Applications

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Corneal Regeneration

Part of the book series: Essentials in Ophthalmology ((ESSENTIALS))

Abstract

Corneal pathologies are one of the leading causes of visual impairment and blindness globally. The traditional and most commonly performed corneal transplantation is limited by the inadequacy of the donor tissues and graft failure. The recent discovery of mesenchymal stem cells in the limbus and their presence from many other sources of the human body, capable of modulating corneal wound healing, has opened up the possibility of using cell-based therapy and ameliorating the corneal blindness. Human limbal-derived stem cells have manifested and proven their efficacy through various well-established surgical interventions over the past decade. The current chapter deals with the role of mesenchymal stem cells obtained from limbal stroma in wound healing, reducing scarring in superficial corneal pathologies like scars, as evident from the results of preclinical studies. Various factors involved in the corneal repair mechanisms and the different sources of mesenchymal stem cells are mentioned. Different clinical approaches and various stem cell therapies were addressed along with the main highlights of our current clinical trial with a note on the requirements for the maintenance of a cGMP facility.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge Mr. Abhinav Reddy Kethiri, Brien Holden Eye Research Center, and Mr. Sridhar Rao Boyinpally, Department of Pathology, LV Prasad Eye Institute, for helping in generating the images for this chapter. We thank Champalimaud Foundation and Tej Kohli Cornea Institute and LV Prasad Eye Institute for providing the financial assistance and manpower for this chapter.

Conflict of Interest

Noopur Mitragotri, Mukesh Damala, Vivek Singh and Sayan Basu declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Informed consent was obtained along with the consent for publication.

Note

No animal studies were carried out by the authors for this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center to Ocular Regeneration (CORE); and Brien Holden Eye Research Center, LV Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad, Telangana, India

    Noopur Mitragotri, Mukesh Damala & Vivek Singh

  2. School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, Telangana, India

    Mukesh Damala

  3. Center for Ocular Regeneration (CORE), LV Prasad Eye Institute, Banajara Hills, Hyderabad, Telangana, India

    Sayan Basu

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  1. Noopur Mitragotri
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  2. Mukesh Damala
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Correspondence to Vivek Singh or Sayan Basu .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Miguel Hernández University , Alicante, Spain

    Jorge L. Alió

  2. Vissum-Instituto Oftalmologico de Alica, University Miguel Hernandez, Alicante, Alicante, Spain

    Jorge L. Alió del Barrio

  3. Vissum Corporation, Madrid, Spain

    Francisco Arnalich-Montiel

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Mitragotri, N., Damala, M., Singh, V., Basu, S. (2019). Limbal Stromal Stem Cells in Corneal Wound Healing: Current Perspectives and Future Applications. In: Alió, J., Alió del Barrio, J., Arnalich-Montiel, F. (eds) Corneal Regeneration . Essentials in Ophthalmology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01304-2_25

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01304-2_25

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