Survival of transplanted human corneal stem cells. Case report

Abstract

Purpose: To report a case history involving long-term survival of transplanted human corneal stem cells. Methods: A male patient with severe bilateral chemical burns received six corneal transplants, all of which failed. He subsequently received combined corneal transplants and stem cell transplants, which have remained clear for 3 and 4 years respectively. One of the donors was female. We studied the gender of the epithelial cells of the cheek of the patient and of the two grafts using fixation and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) analyses. Results: In the graft from the female donor, 30% of the epithelial cells were of female origin. All the epithelial cells from the cheek and the other graft were of male origin. Conclusion: This case demonstrates that transplanted human corneal stem cells can survive and replicate in the long-term (3 years) without systemic immunosuppression. The case also indicates that a minority (30%) of healthy transplanted epithelial cells is enough to present a clear graft with a clinically healthy ocular surface.