title: Morphological description of limbal epithelium: searching for stem cells crypts in the dog, cat, pig, cow, sheep and horse.
abstract: The cornea provides protection and transparency to the eye, allowing an optimal sharpness view. In some pathological conditions the cornea is able to regenerate thanks to the presence of a stem cells reservoir present at the level of the transition area between cornea and sclera (limbus). Corneal cell therapies in Veterinary Medicine are really limited due to the lacking of knowledge about the anatomy of the limbal area, the putative presence of stem cells and their identification in domestic species. The aim of this study was to provide an overview of the main distinctive structural features of the sclero-corneal junction and conjunctival-corneal junction areas in some species of veterinary importance, using optic microscope observations of histological sections. The resulting data were compared with cornea from humans adapting protocols already used to identify stem cells by means of a specific cellular marker. We tested the expression of ΔNp63α isoform in the cornea basal cells, trying to correlate the distribution profile with areas of highly proliferative turnover. The results obtained from this study represent a first step towards the identification of a corneal stem cells reservoir in different animals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padova, Viale dell'Università 16, 35020, Legnaro - Agripolis, Padova, Italy. marco.pat@unipd.it.
authors.forename: M
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5735-8837
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Patruno
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Medicine, Production and Health, University of Padova, Viale dell'Università 16, 35020, Legnaro - Agripolis, Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Perazzi
authors.affiliation: Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padova, Viale dell'Università 16, 35020, Legnaro - Agripolis, Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Martinello
authors.affiliation: Global Stem cell Technology-ANACURA Group, Noorwegenstraat 4, 9940, Evergem, Belgium.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Blaseotto
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Di Iorio
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Medicine, Production and Health, University of Padova, Viale dell'Università 16, 35020, Legnaro - Agripolis, Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Iacopetti
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002415:Cats / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D002417:Cattle / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D004285:Dogs / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D004728:Endothelium, Corneal / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000166:cytology; D004847:Epithelial Cells; D004848:Epithelium / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D006736:Horses / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D012590:Sclera / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000166:cytology; D012756:Sheep / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D013552:Swine / Q000033:anatomy & histology*
keywords: Corneal stem cells; Domestic animal; Histology; Limbus