Corneal endothelial cell fate is maintained by LGR5 through the regulation of hedgehog and Wnt pathway.

Leucine-rich repeat-containing G protein-coupled receptor 5 (LGR5), a target of Wnt signaling, is reportedly a marker of intestine, stomach, and hair follicle stem cells in mice. To gain a novel insight into the role of LGR5 in human corneal tissue, we performed gain- and loss-of-function studies. The findings of this study show for the first time that LGR5 is uniquely expressed in the peripheral region of human corneal endothelial cells (CECs) and that LGR5((+)) cells have some stem/progenitor cell characteristics, and that in human corneal endothelium, LGR5 is the target molecule and negative feedback regulator of the Hedgehog (HH) signaling pathway.