Peripheral Blood As a Source of Stem Cells for Regenerative Medicine: Emphasis Towards Corneal Epithelial Reconstruction-An In Vitro Study.

Background: Mesenchymal stem cell-based treatments are now emerging as a therapy for corneal epithelial damage. Although bone marrow, adipose tissue and umbilical cord blood are the main sources of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), other tissues like the peripheral blood also harbor mesenchymal-like stem cells called peripheral blood-derived mononuclear cells (PBMNCs). These blood derived stem cells gained a lot of attention due to its minimally invasive collection and ease of isolation.

Bioengineered corneal epithelial cell sheet from mesenchymal stem cells-A functional alternative to limbal stem cells for ocular surface reconstruction.

Limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) is the loss of limbal stem cells that reside in the corneoscleral junction resulting in vision loss or blindness. Bilateral LSCD is usually treated by allogeneic corneal transplantation, with instances of tissue rejection or failure in long-term follow-up. This study aims to use adipose mesenchymal stem cells (ASC) as an alternative autologous cell source for treating bilateral limbal deficiency conditions.