[Expansion and Transplantation of Limbal Stem Cells for Corneal Surface Regeneration]

In humans, regeneration of the corneal epithelium is regulated by the stem cell reservoir of the limbus. After extensive limbal damage, e.g., by inflammation, thermal burn or chemical injury, limbal stem cell deficiency leading to vascularization and opacification of the cornea and resulting in vision loss, may develop. Several techniques of autologous and allogenic stem cell transplantation have been established. The limbus can be restored by transplantation of whole limbal grafts, small limbal biopsies or by ex vivo-expanded limbal cells. In this review, the physiology of corneal epithelium, the pathophysiology of limbal stem cell deficiency and the therapeutic procedures will be presented.