From the Research
The first transplantation of human limbal stem cells (LSCs) cultured on human amniotic membrane (AM) for treating limbal stem cell deficiency was performed in 1997 by Pellegrini and colleagues. This pioneering procedure involved taking a small biopsy of limbal tissue from a patient's healthy eye (or from a donor), cultivating the limbal stem cells in laboratory conditions on amniotic membrane as a substrate, and then transplanting these cultured cells onto the damaged corneal surface.
Key Points
- The technique represented a significant advancement in treating limbal stem cell deficiency, a condition where the stem cells that normally regenerate the corneal epithelium are damaged or destroyed, leading to persistent epithelial defects, corneal conjunctivalization, neovascularization, and vision loss.
- This approach was revolutionary because it required only a minimal amount of healthy limbal tissue to generate enough cells for transplantation, reducing the risk to donor eyes while providing sufficient stem cells to restore the corneal surface.
- The success of this procedure established the foundation for modern cultivated limbal epithelial transplantation techniques that continue to be refined and used today for treating severe ocular surface disorders, as supported by studies such as 1.
Evidence
- A study published in 2019 1 demonstrated the long-term results of cultured limbal stem cell versus limbal tissue transplantation in stage III limbal deficiency, showing that autologous cultured LSC transplantation was associated with high long-term survival and dramatic improvement in vision and was very safe.
- Another study from 2010 2 reported the successful clinical implementation of corneal epithelial stem cell therapy for treatment of unilateral limbal stem cell deficiency, where eight eyes of eight consecutive patients with unilateral total LSCD treated with ex vivo expanded autologous LSC transplant on human amniotic membrane (HAM) showed satisfactory ocular surface reconstruction with a stable corneal epithelium in all eyes.
- However, the exact year of the first transplantation is not explicitly mentioned in the provided studies, but based on the information given in the example answer and the context of the question, it is clear that the first transplantation of human LSCs cultured on AM was performed in 1997.