The Effects of Extracellular Matrices and Co-Culture Systems on Cultured Limbal Stem Cells

To study the effects of different matrices and co-culture systemson cultured limbal stem cells (lscs).materials and methods: limbal explants were co-cultured with limbalfibroblasts (lf) and/or mouse embryonic fibroblasts (mef) on filter insertscoated with amniotic membrane (am), matrigel (mat) and collagen type i(col).results: this study revealed that am facilitated the cell migration andexpansion significantly in comparison with other matrices. however, thegene expression profile of stemness markers of lscs showed no significantdifferences among the experimental groups. the data indicated that at least intwo-dimensional culture systems, the mentioned matrices have no significanteffect on switching the expression of genes involved in differentiationprocess.in addition, the results of the two co-culture systems in case of differentfeeders, includingmef and lf were similar in growth rate and also preservingstemness quality of cultured limbal cells.conclusion: to exclude the pollution of transplantable cultivated cells withprobable mouse viruses, lf with human origin is recommended as feeder.hence, limbal explants grown onam in co-culture with lf will promise a quickand safe model for preparing undifferentiated epithelial sheets suitable fortransplantation.