Corneal Stromal cells (CSC)

Corneal stromal stem cells (CSSC), identified in the anterior limbal stroma, represent the mesenchymal progenitors of stromal keratocytes, the dominant cell type inside the corneal stroma.     Under optimized culture condition, primary human CSSC (hCSSC) at early passages exhibit stem cell features, including clonal growth and expression of stem cell markers (CD73, CD90, CD166, SSEA4, OCT4, ABCG2, Nestin and Pax6), as well as the ability to differentiate to keratocytes when induced by specific cytokines, and negligible expression of fibroblast-related genes, such as α-smooth muscle actin (αSMA) and tenascin C (TNC). Corneal stromal stem cells (CSSC) reduce corneal inflammation, prevent fibrotic scarring, and regenerate transparent stromal tissue in injured corneas.