SELF RENEWING EMBRYONIC LIKE PLURIPOTENT STEM CELLS FROM CORNEAL LIMBUS FOR USE IN REGENERATIVE THERAPY AND METHOD OF PRODUCING THE SAME

摘要

The present invention provides pluripotent corneal stem cells from limbal biopsies, cultured ex vivo, and purified by magnetic affinity cell sorting (MACS). These cells possess multilineage differentitation potential and self-renewing capability. They could be propagated in culture, where they continuously produce corneal epithelial cells and other cell lineages from ecotodermal origin, neurons, skin mesodermal origin; osteoblasts, chondrocytes, myocytes, skeletal muscle cells, adipocytes, cardiomyocytes, endodermal origin, beta islet cells and hepatocytes, and endothelial cells. This data indicates that self-renewing multipotent stem cells persists in limbus of the cornea and that such cells can be induced to become cells of other organs of all lineages. The mutipotential capacity of these cells, their easy isolation and culture as well as their high ex vivo proliferation capacity makes these cells a promising therapeutic tool. Hence, these pluripotent stem cells may provide new insight into therapy of various degenerative diseases.