Generation of Functional Immortalized Human Corneal Stromal Stem Cells

Overview

Journal Int J Mol Sci

Publisher MDPI

Specialties Biochemistry
Chemistry
Molecular Biology

Date 2022 Nov 11

PMID 36362184

Authors

Aurelie Dos Santos

Ning Lyu

Alis Balayan

Rob Knight

Katherine Sun Zhuo

Yuzhao Sun

Jianjiang Xu

Martha L Funderburgh

James L Funderburgh

Sophie X Deng

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

In addition to their therapeutic potential in regenerative medicine, human corneal stromal stem cells (CSSCs) could serve as a powerful tool for drug discovery and development. Variations from different donors, their isolation method, and their limited life span in culture hinder the utility of primary human CSSCs. To address these limitations, this study aims to establish and characterize immortalized CSSC lines (imCSSC) generated from primary human CSSCs. Primary CSSCs (pCSSC), isolated from human adult corneoscleral tissue, were transduced with ectopic expression of hTERT, c-MYC, or the large T antigen of the Simian virus 40 (SV40T) to generate imCSSC. Cellular morphology, proliferation capacity, and expression of CSSCs specific surface markers were investigated in all cell lines, including gene expression levels in vitro, a known biomarker of in vivo anti-inflammatory efficacy. SV40T-overexpressing imCSSC successfully extended the lifespan of pCSSC while retaining a similar morphology, proliferative capacity, multilineage differentiation potential, and anti-inflammatory properties. The current study serves as a proof-of-concept that immortalization of CSSCs could enable a large-scale source of CSSC for use in regenerative medicine.

Citing Articles

Corneal Stromal Stem Cell-Derived Extracellular Vesicles Attenuate ANGPTL7 Expression in the Human Trabecular Meshwork.

Moujane F, Zhang C, Knight R, Lee J, Deng S, Zheng J Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2025; 14(1):21.

PMID: 39847376 PMC: 11759583. DOI: 10.1167/tvst.14.1.21.

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