title: Molecular characterization of explant cultured human oral mucosal epithelial cells.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To culture and characterize oral mucosal epithelial cells (OMEC) grown on de-epithelialized human amniotic membrane (HAM) to explore their suitability as autografts in patients with bilateral ocular surface disease (OSD) and limbal stem cell deficiency.
  
  
  METHODS
  Oral biopsy samples were obtained from 20 patients undergoing oral reconstructive surgery, with informed consent and Institutional Ethics Committee approval. Morphologic studies, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), reverse transcriptase (RT) PCR and immunocytochemistry were used to characterize the OMEC.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Morphologic studies and TEM revealed a confluent sheet of proliferating, stratified oral epithelial cells connected to each other by desmosomes, containing intracellular cytokeratins and abundant mucin granules. These characteristics were further corroborated and elucidated by RT-PCR and immunocytochemistry. The presence of markers of differentiated, stratified epithelial cells (cytokeratin K3, K4, K13, and connexin 43), progenitor stem cell cell markers (p63, p75, β1-integrin/CD29, and ABCG2), and a variety of predominantly membrane-bound and a few gel-forming mucins (MUC 1, 5B, 6, 13, 15, and 16) was established.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cultured OMEC have the potential to act as autografts for ocular surface reconstruction in patients with bilateral ocular surface disease and can prove to be particularly beneficial to ameliorate the mucin deficiency state in dry eye associated with OSD.
authors: Department of Ophthalmology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
authors: Sudip
authors: S
authors: Sen
authors: Shweta
authors: S
authors: Sharma
authors: Anand
authors: A
authors: Gupta
authors: Noopur
authors: N
authors: Gupta
authors: Himi
authors: H
authors: Singh
authors: Ajoy
authors: A
authors: Roychoudhury
authors: Sujata
authors: S
authors: Mohanty
authors: Seema
authors: S
authors: Sen
authors: Tapas C
authors: TC
authors: Nag
authors: Radhika
authors: R
authors: Tandon
mesh_terms: D000650:Amnion; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D018920:Coculture Techniques; D003316:Corneal Diseases / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D016850:Limbus Corneae / Q000473:pathology; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000473:pathology; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers