{"title":"Cell identity changes in ocular surface Epithelia","authors":"Nick Di Girolamo, Mijeong Park","doi":"10.1016/j.preteyeres.2022.101148","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Corneal and conjunctival epithelia arise from a common ancestral ectoderm cell, then diverge into distinct lineages. The former develops into a multilayered stratified squamous epithelium, the latter into an expansive mucous membrane that stretches the eyelid margin to the cornea's outskirts. The limbus, which intersects these epithelia, is purported to harbor corneal stem cells. Intrinsic programs that prevent these neighbouring epithelia from mixing and changing identity have not been elucidated, however microenvironmental cues that emanate following tissue damage and ensuing disease, dictate cell fate choices including those that influence form and function. Plasticity of ocular surface epithelia is gauged by their ability to undergo epithelial-mesenchymal transition, transdifferentiation, dedifferentiation and metaplastic transformation. Elucidating the molecular mechanism by which these rare and unusual phenomena arise, and persuading cells to either revert to their original state or remain newly committed, could be exploited into game-changing therapeutics for patients with corneal blindness and other diseases.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":21159,"journal":{"name":"Progress in Retinal and Eye Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":18.6000,"publicationDate":"2023-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"5","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Progress in Retinal and Eye Research","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1350946222001082","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"OPHTHALMOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 5
Abstract
Corneal and conjunctival epithelia arise from a common ancestral ectoderm cell, then diverge into distinct lineages. The former develops into a multilayered stratified squamous epithelium, the latter into an expansive mucous membrane that stretches the eyelid margin to the cornea's outskirts. The limbus, which intersects these epithelia, is purported to harbor corneal stem cells. Intrinsic programs that prevent these neighbouring epithelia from mixing and changing identity have not been elucidated, however microenvironmental cues that emanate following tissue damage and ensuing disease, dictate cell fate choices including those that influence form and function. Plasticity of ocular surface epithelia is gauged by their ability to undergo epithelial-mesenchymal transition, transdifferentiation, dedifferentiation and metaplastic transformation. Elucidating the molecular mechanism by which these rare and unusual phenomena arise, and persuading cells to either revert to their original state or remain newly committed, could be exploited into game-changing therapeutics for patients with corneal blindness and other diseases.
期刊介绍:
Progress in Retinal and Eye Research is a Reviews-only journal. By invitation, leading experts write on basic and clinical aspects of the eye in a style appealing to molecular biologists, neuroscientists and physiologists, as well as to vision researchers and ophthalmologists.
The journal covers all aspects of eye research, including topics pertaining to the retina and pigment epithelial layer, cornea, tears, lacrimal glands, aqueous humour, iris, ciliary body, trabeculum, lens, vitreous humour and diseases such as dry-eye, inflammation, keratoconus, corneal dystrophy, glaucoma and cataract.