Identification and Potential Application of Human Corneal Endothelial Progenitor Cells

This article demonstrates for the first time that Laminin-511 is an optimal, human matrix for the isolation and expansion of corneal endothelial progenitors. The authors show that the proliferative capacity of these endothelial progenitors is very high on Laminin-511 compared to conventional methods. Laminin-511 can be used to rapidly isolate and expand a homogenous population of endothelial progenitor cells that can be differentiated to endothelial cells in a biorelevant environment. The authors demonstrate that the proliferative capacity of these endothelial progenitors is very high on Laminin-511 compared to conventional methods. Laminin-511 can thus be used to rapidly isolate and expand a homogenous population of endothelial progenitors that can be differentiated to endothelial cells in a biorelevant environment. Main points of the article are: 1) High proliferative capacity in serum-free media compared to standard methods, 2) Large numbers of cells generated, 3) Facilitates rapid isolation of a homogenous population of endothelial progenitors, 4) Enables differentiation to endothelial cells in a biorelevant environment, 5) Cells can be subcultured for at least 5 passages.