The mechanism of ocular surface cell differentiation and its potential applica-tion in disease treatment
10.13389/j.cnki.rao.2025.0101
- VernacularTitle:眼表细胞分化的机制及其在疾病治疗中的潜在应用
- Author:
Peng NIU
1
;
Yang LÜ
Author Information
1. 730000 甘肃省兰州市,甘肃中医药大学第一临床医学院;730050 甘肃省兰州市,中国人民解放军联勤保障部队第九四○医院眼科中心;730050 甘肃省兰州市,中国人民解放军联勤保障部队第九四○医院基础医学实验室,甘肃省干细胞与基因药物重点实验室
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
ocular surface cells;
differentiation;
epithelial-mesenchymal transition;
transdifferentiation;
dedifferenti-ation
- From:
Recent Advances in Ophthalmology
2025;45(7):583-588
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
The ocular surface is composed of a variety of tissues,of which limbal stem/progenitor cells(LSCs)are es-sential for maintaining the steady state of the ocular surface.Once LSCs become diseased,resulting in limbal corneal stem cell deficiency(LSCD),the ocular surface epithelial cells will change their cellular identity through processes such as epi-thelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT),transdifferentiation and dedifferentiation.Cell differentiation is tightly controlled by genetic programming and plays a key role in the transformation of the cellular state.The EMT process allows epithelial cells to exhibit mesenchymal cell characteristics,which may cause subepithelial fibrosis in corneal disease and is regulated by a variety of factors.Transdifferentiation is the transformation of one type of differentiated cell into another.In ocular surface stress,conjunctival epithelium may be transformed into corneal epithelium,and non-ocular surface cells may be trans-formed into corneal epithelium,but this process faces ethical and cellular stability challenges.Dedifferentiation,on the other hand,refers to the restoration of a differentiated cell's ability to divide and differentiate,and ocular surface cells also undergo de-differentiation under certain conditions and may be involved in the repair process of the ocular surface.Inten-sive study of these cellular changes provides new ideas for the treatment of ocular surface diseases,although the exact mechanisms are not yet fully understood.Microenvironmental signaling plays a crucial role in this process,so care must be taken when applying the findings to avoid triggering other pathological changes.
