Postdoctoral Fellow Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Republic of Korea
Abstract: Corneal endothelial dysfunction is one of the leading causes of vision loss, and endothelial transplantation is the only available curative option. However, due to the global shortage of donors and the low in vivo proliferative capacity of corneal endothelial cells (CECs), there is increasing focus on efficient culture methods to differentiate CECs from pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) through a neural crest (NC) lineage. In this study, we generated induced neural crest-like cells (iNCLCs) from adult mouse palate-derived fibroblasts (mPF) via a non-genetic approach. These iNCLCs could be easily acquired and expanded for as long as 9 passages in serum-free NC induction medium (NCIM). We demonstrate that NCIM is suitable for selectively supporting the growth of NC-derived cells with distinct morphological features. The iNCLCs exhibited a dramatic increase in neural crest stem cell markers, including AP2, Nestin, and Sox2. Notably, these iNCLCs possessed a high proliferative potential and were capable of differentiating into CEC-like cells with regular hexagonal morphology. Consequently, our protocol enables the efficient generation of CEC-like cells from NC-derived cells. We propose that palate-derived iNCLCs may serve as a promising cell source for personalized regenerative therapies to repair damage in NC-derived tissues such as corneal endothelium.
