Human corneal basal epithelial cells express an embryonic stem cell marker OCT4

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Efficient and Scalable Directed Differentiation of Clinically Compatible Corneal Limbal Epithelial Stem Cells from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells
10:07

Efficient and Scalable Directed Differentiation of Clinically Compatible Corneal Limbal Epithelial Stem Cells from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

Published on: October 24, 2018

Shi-you Zhou1, Cheng Zhang, Ebrahimi Baradaran

  • 1Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, The State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.

Current Eye Research
|October 21, 2010
PubMed
Abstract

Insights

Human corneal epithelium expresses OCT4, a key transcription factor for embryonic stem cell maintenance. This finding reveals OCT4

Area of Science:

  • Stem cell biology
  • Ocular surface research
  • Gene regulation

Background:

  • Transcription factors regulate cellular phenotype by controlling gene expression.
  • OCT4 is essential for embryonic stem cell self-renewal and maintenance.
  • OCT4 expression is typically downregulated in differentiated somatic cells.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine if OCT4 is expressed in the human corneal epithelium.
  • To investigate the localization of OCT4 within corneal tissues.

Main Methods:

  • Fluorescence immunohistochemistry was used to detect OCT4 protein in human cornea specimens.
  • Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analyzed OCT4 mRNA in corneal epithelium and human embryonic stem cells.
  • DNA sequencing confirmed the identity of OCT4 mRNA.

Main Results:

  • OCT4 protein was detected in the nuclear basal layer of all human corneas examined.
  • OCT4 mRNA was present in the corneal epithelium of all samples.
  • Sequencing confirmed 99.17% similarity to the human OCT4 gene.

Conclusions:

  • The basal layer of the human corneal epithelium expresses OCT4.
  • OCT4 is present in corneal epithelial cells, suggesting a potential role in ocular surface maintenance.

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