Do transplantation of human limbal cells cultivated on amniotic membrane for reconstruction of rat corneal epithelium after alkaline burn?
Limbal stem cells can be cultivated in vitro: the cells are characterized by high proliferation and slow cycling and identified as p63/K19 positive and K3/K12 negative. During culture, some stem cells can proliferate and differentiate into mature cornea epithelial cells. Amniotic membrane is a suitable carrier for limbal stem cells. Transplantation of human limbal stem cells cultivated on amniotic membrane can functionally reconstruct rat cornea with limbal stem cell deficiency.
The organ function variables tested in this study are of limited predictive value during the early stage of ARF.