Single-cell transcriptomics uncovers human corneal limbal stem cells and their differentiation trajectory.

Limbal stem cells (LSCs), known as corneal epithelial stem cells, are located at the basal epithelial layer of the corneal limbus and serve an important function in maintaining the homeostasis of the corneal epithelium. The specificity of LSC markers remains largely controversial. To address the gap in the current understanding of LSCs, the authors performed transcriptome profiling of heterogeneous corneal limbal basal cells using single-cell transcriptomics technology to identify LSCs and their exclusive markers. Single-cell transcriptomic profiles were generated from isolated limbal basal cells from two young human donors.