title: Stem Cells in the Trabecular Meshwork for Regulating Intraocular Pressure.
abstract: Intraocular pressure (IOP) is still the main treatment target for glaucoma. Outflow resistance mainly exists at the trabecular meshwork (TM) outflow pathway, which is responsible for IOP regulation. Changes of TM cellularity and TM extracellular matrix turnover may play important roles in IOP regulation. In this article, we review basic anatomy and physiology of the outflow pathway and TM stem cell characteristics regarding the location, isolation, identification and function. TM stem cells are localized at the insert region of the TM and are label-retaining in vivo. They can be isolated by side-population cell sorting, cloning culture, or sphere culture. TM stem cells are multipotent with the ability to home to the TM region and differentiate into TM cells in vivo. Other stem cell types, such as adipose-derived stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells have been discovered for TM cell differentiation and TM regeneration. We also review glaucomatous animal models, which are suitable to study stem cell-based therapies for TM regeneration.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Hongmin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yun
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.|2 Department of Ophthalmology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University , Changsha, China .
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.|3 Department of Chemistry, CUNY-City College of Technology , Brooklyn, New York.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wills
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.|4 Department of Developmental Biology, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.|5 Louis J. Fox Center for Vision Restoration, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.|6 McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Yiqin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Du
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D006801:Humans; D007429:Intraocular Pressure; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D014129:Trabecular Meshwork / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism*