Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25030174›Full record

ArticleNature2014

ABCB5 is a limbal stem cell gene required for corneal development and repair.

Bruce R Ksander, Paraskevi E Kolovou, Brian J Wilson, Karim R Saab, Qin Guo, Jie Ma, Sean P McGuire, Meredith S Gregory, William J B Vincent, Victor L Perez and 13 more

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 153 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
153citing papers in PubMed
24.1field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

153 citing papers in PubMed, 273 citations in OpenAlex.

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  14. A RareJournal of clinical medicine · 2025
    Article
  15. Review
  16. Article
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Multiple Stem/Progenitor Cells Isolated from the Limbus.Current stem cell research & therapy · 2025
    Review

93 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

23 authors at 13 institutions in 1 country.

Bruce R Ksander1] Department of Ophthalmology, Schepens Eye Research Institute, Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA [2].
Paraskevi E Kolovou1] Department of Ophthalmology, Schepens Eye Research Institute, Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA [2].
Brian J Wilson1] Transplant Research Program, Division of Nephrology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA [2] Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA [3] Department of Medicine, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts 02130, USA.
Karim R Saab1] Transplant Research Program, Division of Nephrology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA [2] Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
Qin Guo1] Department of Medicine, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts 02130, USA [2] Transplant Research Program, Division of Nephrology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA [3] Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
Jie Ma1] Transplant Research Program, Division of Nephrology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA [2] Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
Sean P McGuireDepartment of Ophthalmology, Schepens Eye Research Institute, Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.
Meredith S GregoryDepartment of Ophthalmology, Schepens Eye Research Institute, Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.
William J B VincentDepartment of Ophthalmology, Schepens Eye Research Institute, Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.
Victor L PerezBascom Palmer Eye Institute and the Department of Ophthalmology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida 33136, USA.
Fernando Cruz-GuillotyBascom Palmer Eye Institute and the Department of Ophthalmology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida 33136, USA.
Winston W Y KaoDepartment of Ophthalmology, University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio 45229, USA.
Mindy K CallDepartment of Ophthalmology, University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio 45229, USA.
Budd A TuckerStephen A Wynn Institute for Vision Research, Carver College of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, USA.
Qian ZhanDepartment of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
George F MurphyDepartment of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
Kira L LathropDepartment of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine & Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA.
Clemens AltCenter for Systems Biology and Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.
Luke J MortensenCenter for Systems Biology and Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.
Charles P LinCenter for Systems Biology and Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.
James D ZieskeDepartment of Ophthalmology, Schepens Eye Research Institute, Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.
Markus H Frank1] Transplant Research Program, Division of Nephrology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA [2] Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA [3] Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02138, USA [4].
Natasha Y Frank1] Department of Medicine, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts 02130, USA [2] Transplant Research Program, Division of Nephrology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA [3] Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02138, USA [4] Division of Genetics, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA [5].
Boston Children's Hospital · USBrigham and Women's Hospital · USCenter for Systems Biology · USHarvard University · USMassachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary · USSmith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute · USUniversity of Miami · USMassachusetts General Hospital · USUniversity of Cincinnati · USUniversity of Cincinnati Medical Center · USUniversity of Iowa · USUniversity of Pittsburgh · USVA Boston Healthcare System · US

Funding

VISION RESEARCHP30EY003790 · NEI · SCHEPENS EYE RESEARCH INSTITUTE · PI Tobias Elze · 1985 to 2026
$25.5M
TRD3: Percutaneous and Interstitial ImagingP41EB015903 · NIBIB · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI Brett E Bouma · 2012 to 2026
$22.4M
Virus Production and Manipulation of Protein/Gene Expression ModuleP30EY008098 · NEI · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · PI Ethan A Rossi · 1989 to 2026
$17.8M
Shared Equipment ModuleP30EY014801 · NEI · UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · PI Victor L Perez · 2004 to 2026
$12.2M
Microenvironmental control of progenitors in organ dysfunction and repairU01HL100402 · NHLBI · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI KIM, CARLA F., SCADDEN, DAVID T · 2009 to 2015
$8.5M
Multi-wavelength femtosecond laser sources for intravital multiphoton microscopyR01EB017274 · NIBIB · CORNELL UNIVERSITY · PI LIN, CHARLES P., XU, CHRIS · 2013 to 2016
$2.6M
Development of a cell replacement therapy to treat retinal degenerative blindnessDP2OD007483 · OD · UNIVERSITY OF IOWA · PI TUCKER, BUDD A · 2010 to 2010
$2.3M
Chemokines and T Cell Recruitment in High Risk Corneal Allograft RejectionR01EY018624 · NEI · UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · PI PEREZ, VICTOR L · 2009 to 2013
$2.2M
Cell Therapy of Corneal Diseases with Umbilical Mesenchymal Stem CellsR01EY021768 · NEI · UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI · PI KAO, WINSTON W · 2011 to 2014
$2.2M
Immunology of human malignant melanoma initiating cellsR01CA158467 · NCI · BOSTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL · PI FRANK, MARKUS H., HODI, FRANK S · 2012 to 2016
$1.9M
Melanoma Stem Cells, Vasculogenesis and Neoplastic ProgressionR01CA138231 · NCI · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · PI FRANK, MARKUS H. · 2008 to 2012
$1.7M
ABCB5 P-Glycoprotein in Cancer Multidrug ResistanceR01CA113796 · NCI · BOSTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL · PI FRANK, MARKUS H. · 2006 to 2010
$1.5M
BLRD VA I01 BX000516Howard Hughes Medical InstituteNCI NIH HHS R01 CA113796NCI NIH HHS R01CA113796NCI NIH HHS R01 CA138231NCI NIH HHS R01CA138231NCI NIH HHS R01 CA158467NCI NIH HHS R01CA158467NEI NIH HHS EY08098NEI NIH HHS P30 EY003790NEI NIH HHS P30 EY008098NEI NIH HHS P30 EY014801NEI NIH HHS P30EY014801NEI NIH HHS R01 EY018624NEI NIH HHS R01EY018624NEI NIH HHS R01 EY021768NEI NIH HHS R01EY021768NHLBI NIH HHS U01 HL100402NHLBI NIH HHS U01HL100402NIBIB NIH HHS P41 EB015903NIBIB NIH HHS P41EB015903NIBIB NIH HHS R01 EB017274NIH HHS DP2 OD007483NIH HHS DP2OD007483NINDS NIH HHS K08 NS051349NINDS NIH HHS K08NS051349RRD VA I01 RX000989
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Corneal epithelial homeostasis and regeneration are sustained by limbal stem cells (LSCs), and LSC deficiency is a major cause of blindness worldwide. Transplantation is often the only therapeutic option available to patients with LSC deficiency. However, while transplant success depends foremost on LSC frequency within grafts, a gene allowing for prospective LSC enrichment has not been identified so far. Here we show that ATP-binding cassette, sub-family B, member 5 (ABCB5) marks LSCs and is required for LSC maintenance, corneal development and repair. Furthermore, we demonstrate that prospectively isolated human or murine ABCB5-positive LSCs possess the exclusive capacity to fully restore the cornea upon grafting to LSC-deficient mice in xenogeneic or syngeneic transplantation models. ABCB5 is preferentially expressed on label-retaining LSCs in mice and p63α-positive LSCs in humans. Consistent with these findings, ABCB5-positive LSC frequency is reduced in LSC-deficient patients. Abcb5 loss of function in Abcb5 knockout mice causes depletion of quiescent LSCs due to enhanced proliferation and apoptosis, and results in defective corneal differentiation and wound healing. Our results from gene knockout studies, LSC tracing and transplantation models, as well as phenotypic and functional analyses of human biopsy specimens, provide converging lines of evidence that ABCB5 identifies mammalian LSCs. Identification and prospective isolation of molecularly defined LSCs with essential functions in corneal development and repair has important implications for the treatment of corneal disease, particularly corneal blindness due to LSC deficiency.

Indexed as

RegenerationWound HealingAnimalsApoptosisATP-Binding Cassette TransportersATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily BATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Member 1BiomarkersCell DifferentiationCell ProliferationFemaleHumansLimbus CorneaeMaleMiceMice, KnockoutABCB5 protein, humanABCB5 protein, mouseATP-Binding Cassette TransportersATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily BATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Member 1BiomarkersTP63 protein, humanTranscription FactorsTumor Suppressor Proteins

Identifiers

PMID25030174
PMCPMC4246512
OpenAlexW2075123157

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.