There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.
Abstract
Despite the obvious importance of epithelial stem cells in tissue homeostasis and
tumorigenesis, little is known about their specific location or biological characteristics.
Using 3H-thymidine labeling, we have identified a subpopulation of corneal epithelial
basal cells, located in the peripheral cornea in a region called limbus, that are
normally slow cycling, but can be stimulated to proliferate in response to wounding
and to a tumor promotor, TPA. No such cells can be detected in the central corneal
epithelium, suggesting that corneal epithelial stem cells are located in the limbus.
A comparison of various types of epithelial stem cells revealed a common set of features,
including their preferred location, pigment protection, and growth properties, which
presumably play a crucial role in epithelial stem cell function.