Simple Limbal Epithelial Transplantation: A Review
I. Introduction The cornea is lined by non-keratinized, stratified squamous epithelium. At the limbus, there is a gradual transition of these cells to non-keratinized, stratified columnar epithelial cells, along with mucin-secreting goblet cells, forming the conjunctival epithelium. The corneoscleral limbus lies between these two epithelia in a healthy eye. The limbus contains palisades of Vogt, the basal layer of which function as a repository for the corneal epithelial stem cells.(1, 2) These limbal epithelial stem cells (LESC’s) divide whenever the corneal epithelium is required to be replenished. As the stem cells divide, one of the daughter cells retains the primitive nature of the parent cell and functions to maintain the stem cell pool. The other daughter stem cell differentiates to acquire the physiological nature of a specific tissue, like the corneal epithelium. These cells are known as ‘transient amplifying cells’, which then divide and migrate centripetally, circumferential
Dr. Supriya Sharma · Dr. Swapna Shanbhag · +1 other