Therapy of corneal endothelial dysfunction with corneal endothelial cell-like cells derived from skin-derived precursors

Corneal endothelial dysfunction occurs when corneal endothelial cells (CECs) are dramatically lost and eventually results in vision loss. Corneal transplantation is the only solution at present. However, corneal transplantation requires a fresh human cornea and there is a worldwide shortage of donors. Therefore, finding new functional CECs to replace human CECs is urgent. Skin-derived precursors (SKPs) can be easily acquired and have multiple differential potential. We co-cultured human SKPs with B4G12 cells in serum-free medium and obtained abundant CEC-like cells which had similar morphology and characteristic to human CECs. CEC-like cells exerted excellent therapeutic effect when they were transplanted into rabbit and monkey corneal endothelial dysfunction models by injection method. This protocol enables efficient production of CEC-like cells from SKPs. The renewable cell source, novel derivation method and simple treatment strategy may lead to potential applications in cell replacement therapy for corneal endothelial dysfunction.