Stem Cells for Corneal Endothelial Disease
摘要
The corneal endothelium is crucial in maintaining corneal transparency via regulating corneal hydration. Corneal endothelial injury and dysfunction are two of the main causes of impaired vision, secondary to corneal haze and opacification. Human corneal endothelium has very limited regeneration capacity. Different methods of corneal endothelial transplantation are currently the mainstay of the treatment of corneal endothelial dysfunction. Due to the limited availability of donor corneal transplant tissues, cell and cell-based treatments are currently an important area of research to help improve the function or regeneration of corneal endothelium without transplant surgeries. Different types of stem cells and acellular stem cell-based treatments such as extracellular vesicles (EVs) and secretomes are good therapeutic candidates due to their regenerative and immunomodulatory properties. Umbilical cord and embryonic stem cells showed encouraging results for their ability to differentiate into corneal endothelial cell (CEC)-like cells and improve corneal endothelial function. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), created by reprogramming adult somatic cells, were also successfully differentiated into CEC-like cells and improved corneal endothelial function in animal experimental models. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs), their secreted factors (secretome), and extracellular vesicles (EVs) yielded encouraging outcomes in improving corneal endothelial regeneration and function via their paracrine immunomodulatory and regenerative properties. Clinical trials are necessary to translate these promising experimental results into treatments for human corneal endothelial disease.