title: Human Corneal Endothelial Cells ExpandedIn VitroAre a Powerful Resource for Tissue Engineering.
abstract: Human corneal endothelial cells have two major functions: barrier function mediated by proteins such as ZO-1 and pump function mediated by Na-K-ATPase which help to maintain visual function. However, human corneal endothelial cells are notorious for their limited proliferative capabilityin vivoand are therefore prone to corneal endothelial dysfunction that eventually may lead to blindness. At present, the only method to cure corneal endothelial dysfunction is by transplantation of a cadaver donor cornea with normal corneal endothelial cells. Due to the global shortage of donor corneas, it is vital to engineer corneal tissuein vitrothat could potentially be transplanted clinically. In this review, we summarize the advances in understanding the behavior of human corneal endothelial cells, their current engineering strategyin vitroand their potential applications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Yan' An Hospital of Kunming City, Kunming, 650051, China.
authors.forename: Yongsong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029, China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, the Second People's Hospital of Yunnan Province, Kunming, 650021, China.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Public Health, the University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 85709, USA.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Research and Development Department, TissueTech, Inc., 7000 SW 97th Avenue, Suite 212, Miami, FL 33173, USA.
authors.forename: Sean
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tighe
authors.affiliation: Research and Development Department, TissueTech, Inc., 7000 SW 97th Avenue, Suite 212, Miami, FL 33173, USA.
authors.forename: Shuangling
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Research and Development Department, TissueTech, Inc., 7000 SW 97th Avenue, Suite 212, Miami, FL 33173, USA.
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Research and Development Department, TissueTech, Inc., 7000 SW 97th Avenue, Suite 212, Miami, FL 33173, USA.
authors.forename: Chenwei
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, Hubei Province, China.
authors.forename: Subo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: Shenzhen Eye Hospital, School of Optometry & Ophthalmology of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Department of Ophthalmology, Shenzhen, 518000, China.
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Guo
mesh_terms: D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003315:Cornea / Q000166:cytology*; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D006801:Humans; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*
keywords: cornea; endothelial; progenitor; regenerative medical application.