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Updated: Jul 19, 2026

Isolation and Identification of Limbal Niche Cells
Published on: October 27, 2023
N-Cadherin is expressed by putative stem/progenitor cells and melanocytes in the human limbal epithelial stem cell
Ryuhei Hayashi1, Masayuki Yamato, Hiroaki Sugiyama
1Department of Ophthalmology, Tohoku University School of Medicine, 1-1 Seiryomachi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8574, Japan.
Abstract:
Corneal epithelial stem cells are known to be localized to the basal layer of the limbal epithelium, providing a model system for epithelial stem cell biology; however, the mechanisms regarding the maintenance of these stem cells in their specialized niche remain poorly understood. N-cadherin is a member of the classic cadherin family and has previously been demonstrated to be expressed by hematopoietic stem cells. In the present study, we demonstrate that N-cadherin is expressed by putative stem/progenitor cells, as well as melanocytes, in the human limbal epithelial stem cell niche. In addition, we demonstrate that upon in vitro culture using 3T3 feeder layers, loss of N-cadherin expression occurs with cell proliferation. These results indicate that N-cadherin may be a critical cell-to-cell adhesion molecule between corneal epithelial stem/progenitor cells and their corresponding niche cells in the limbal epithelium.
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