Controversies in Corneal Epithelial Stem Cell Biology

The loss or dysfunction of corneal epithelial stem cells, or limbal stem cells as they are more commonly known, results in the painful and blinding disease of limbal stem cell deficiency. In 1997, it was proposed that limbal stem cell deficiency could be treated by transplanting cultured limbal stem cells containing human limbal epithelium. The area of limbal stem cell biology therefore now encompasses not only the basic science of stem cell biology but also the area of translational research and cell therapeutics. Ranging from the laboratory to the clinic, there are still many controversies in limbal stem cell biology. In this chapter we describe and outline some of the questions that remain to be answered.