Trial reportStem cell research & therapy2015
Clinical outcomes of xeno-free expansion and transplantation of autologous ocular surface epithelial stem cells via contact lens delivery: a prospective case series.
Trial report in Stem cell research & therapy, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 73 citations in OpenAlex.
- Amniotic Membrane Stromal Cells Facilitate Corneal Epithelial Tissue Engineering by Promoting Limbal Epithelial Stem Cell Expansion.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2026Article
- Clinical translational research on stem cell products: prospects and challenges.Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2026Review
- Progenitor cells from limbal, conjunctival and oral mucosal biopsies cultivated on silicone hydrogel contact lenses share CD90, CK15, nestin, CXCR4 and SDF-1 niche markers but preserve tissue-specific characteristics and differentiation directions.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2026Article
- Review
- Oculoplastic Interventions in the Management of Ocular Surface Diseases: A Comprehensive Review.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Recent Advances in Stem Cells of Corneal Epithelia.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2025Review
- Tackling visual impairment: emerging avenues in ophthalmology.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Review
- Ocular Surface Regeneration by Limbal Stem Cells Therapies: State of the Art, Challenges, and Perspectives.Stem cells translational medicine · 2023Article
- Cultivated autologous limbal epithelial cell (CALEC) transplantation: Development of manufacturing process and clinical evaluation of feasibility and safety.Science advances · 2023Article
- Advancements in Ocular Regenerative Therapies.Biology · 2023Review
- Concise Review: Bioengineering of Limbal Stem Cell Niche.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Review
- Cultivated Autologous Limbal Epithelial Cell Transplantation: New Frontier in the Treatment of Limbal Stem Cell Deficiency.American journal of ophthalmology · 2022Review
- Ocular stem cells: a narrative review of current clinical trials.International journal of ophthalmology · 2022Review
- Goals and Challenges of Stem Cell-Based Therapy for Corneal Blindness Due to Limbal Deficiency.Pharmaceutics · 2021Review
- Review
- Is the Conjunctiva a Potential Target for Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products?Pharmaceutics · 2021Review
- Stem Cells in the Path of Light, from Corneal to Retinal Reconstruction.Biomedicines · 2021Review
- Recent Advances in Stem Cell Therapy for Limbal Stem Cell Deficiency: A Narrative Review.Ophthalmology and therapy · 2020Review
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionDepletion of limbal stem cells leads to a debilitating condition known as limbal stem cell deficiency, characterised by impaired corneal wound healing and poor vision. The aim of this study was to determine whether delivering progenitor cells on a contact lens is a viable and effective alternative to current transplantation techniques, which are complicated by biological and xenogeneic materials.
methodsSixteen eyes of 16 patients who had total (n=14) and partial (n=2) limbal stem cell deficiency (chemical burns, five eyes; iatrogenic causes, four eyes; aniridia, three eyes; trachoma-induced, two eyes; contact lens over-wear, one eye; and cicatrising conjunctivitis, one eye) and who had failed prior therapy were recruited prospectively into the study. Autologous limbal (n=7) or conjunctival epithelial (n=9) biopsies were harvested from patients and placed on the concave surface of silicone hydrogel contact lenses. Cells were expanded in culture with autologous serum and transplanted onto the ocular surface.
resultsRestoration of a transparent avascular and clinically stable corneal epithelium was attained in 10 of 16 eyes (63%) at a median follow-up time of 2.5 years (range of 0.8 to 5.8 years). Although minor complications occurred in two eyes of two patients because of contact lens insertion or removal, these were not associated with long-term sequelae.
conclusionsThis is the first and largest study to evaluate the mid-term outcomes of autologous limbal/conjunctival stem cell transplantation via a US Food and Drug Administration-approved contact lens, demonstrating that delivery of ocular progenitor cells via this procedure offers a viable, effective, and xeno-free alternative to current transplantation methodologies.
trial registrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN012607000211460. Registered 17 April 2007.
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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.