YAMATO Masayuki    Department   Graduate School of Medical Science, Graduate School of Medical Science    Position   Professor
Article types	Original article
Language	English
Peer review	Peer reviewed
Title	Enrichment of corneal epithelial stem/progenitor cells using cell surface markers, integrin alpha6 and CD71.
Journal	Formal name：Biochemical and biophysical research communications Abbreviation：Biochem Biophys Res Commun ISSN code：(1090-2104)0006-291X(Linking)
Domestic / Foregin	Foregin
Volume, Issue, Page	367(2),pp.256-63
Author and coauthor	Hayashi Ryuhei†, Yamato Masayuki, Saito Teiko, Oshima Tetsuro, Okano Teruo, Tano Yasuo, Nishida Kohji*
Publication date	2008/03
Summary	Corneal epithelial stem cells are believed to reside in the basal layer of the limbal epithelium, but no definitive cell surface markers have been identified. For keratinocytes, stem/progenitor cells are known to be enriched by cell surface markers, integrin alpha(6) and CD71, as a minor subpopulation which shows high integrin alpha(6) and low CD71 expressions (alpha(6)(bri)/CD71(dim)). In the present study, we investigated the possibility that corneal epithelial stem cells can be enriched by integrin alpha(6) and CD71. The alpha(6)(bri)/CD71(dim) cells were separated by fluorescence-activated cell sorting, as a minor subpopulation of the limbal epithelial cells. They were enriched for relatively small cells, showing a higher clonogenic capacity and expression of stem cell markers, but a lower expression of differentiation markers, compared to other cell populations. The cells were localized immunohistochemically in the basal region of the limbal epithelium. These results indicate that the alpha(6)(bri)/CD71(dim) subpopulation enriched corneal epithelial stem cells.
DOI	10.1016/j.bbrc.2007.12.077
PMID	18155160