Transcriptomic Landscape and Functional Characterization of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-derived Limbal Epithelial Progenitor cells

Limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) is a complex, multifactorial disease affecting limbal stem/progenitor cells (LEPC), which are essential for maintaining corneal stability and transparency. Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived (hiPSC-) LEPC are a promising cell source for the treatment of LSCD. However, their similarity to native tissue-derived (T-) LEPC and their functional characterization has not been studied in detail. Here, we show that hiPSC-LEPC and T-LEPC have rather similar gene expression patterns.