Concise Review: Stem Cells for Corneal Wound Healing

Corneal wound healing is a complex process that occurs in response to various injuries and commonly used refractive surgery. It is a significant clinical problem, which may lead to serious complications due to either incomplete (epithelial) or excessive (stromal) healing. Epithelial stem cells clearly play a role in this process, whereas the contribution of stromal and endothelial progenitors is less well studied. The available evidence on stem cell participation in corneal wound healing is reviewed, together with the data on the use of corneal and non‐corneal stem cells to facilitate this process in diseased or postsurgical conditions. Important aspects of corneal stem cell generation from alternative cell sources, including pluripotent stem cells, for possible transplantation upon corneal injuries or in disease conditions are also presented. Stem Cells 2017;35:2105–2114 Schematic of corneal wounds and current stem cell treatments. Epithelial wounds (left): limbal biopsies or limbal epithelial stem cell (LESC)‐enriched cultures are used clinically. As an alternative source, iPSC‐derived LESC are examined in animals. Stromal wounds (right): mesenchymal stem cell injections are tested in animals to reduce haze and scarring. Endothelial wounds (bottom): progenitor cell injections are tested preclinically.