Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42606191›Full record

ArticleInvestigative ophthalmology & visual science2026

Amniotic Membrane Stromal Cells Facilitate Corneal Epithelial Tissue Engineering by Promoting Limbal Epithelial Stem Cell Expansion.

Zihan Guo, Jie Yang, Yimin Huang, Xiezhou He, Yangluowa Qu, Yanbo Liu, Mingxuan Yang, Lifan Yang, Minjie Zhang, Jingbin Zhuang and 4 more

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Investigative ophthalmology & visual science, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Zihan GuoXiamen University Affiliated Xiamen Eye Center, Eye Institute of Xiamen University, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Fujian Engineering and Research Center of Eye Regenerative Medicine, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China.
Jie YangDepartment of Ophthalmology, Zhengzhou Second Hospital, Zhengzhou, Henan, China.
Yimin HuangDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Translational Tissue Engineering Center, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States.
Xiezhou HeXiamen University Affiliated Xiamen Eye Center, Eye Institute of Xiamen University, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Fujian Engineering and Research Center of Eye Regenerative Medicine, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China.
Yangluowa QuXiamen University Affiliated Xiamen Eye Center, Eye Institute of Xiamen University, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Fujian Engineering and Research Center of Eye Regenerative Medicine, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China.
Yanbo LiuDepartment of Ophthalmology, Xiang'an Hospital of Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China.
Mingxuan YangXiamen University Affiliated Xiamen Eye Center, Eye Institute of Xiamen University, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Fujian Engineering and Research Center of Eye Regenerative Medicine, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China.
Lifan YangXiamen University Affiliated Xiamen Eye Center, Eye Institute of Xiamen University, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Fujian Engineering and Research Center of Eye Regenerative Medicine, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China.
Minjie ZhangDepartment of Ophthalmology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China.
Jingbin ZhuangXiamen University Affiliated Xiamen Eye Center, Eye Institute of Xiamen University, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Fujian Engineering and Research Center of Eye Regenerative Medicine, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China.
Minqing CaiXiamen University Affiliated Xiamen Eye Center, Eye Institute of Xiamen University, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Fujian Engineering and Research Center of Eye Regenerative Medicine, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China.
Qian ChenXiamen University Affiliated Xiamen Eye Center, Eye Institute of Xiamen University, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Fujian Engineering and Research Center of Eye Regenerative Medicine, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China.
Rongrong ZongXiamen University Affiliated Xiamen Eye Center, Eye Institute of Xiamen University, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Fujian Engineering and Research Center of Eye Regenerative Medicine, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China.
Wei LiXiamen University Affiliated Xiamen Eye Center, Eye Institute of Xiamen University, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Fujian Engineering and Research Center of Eye Regenerative Medicine, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Purpose: To explore whether amniotic membrane stromal cells (AMSCs) can promote the expansion of limbal stem cells (LSCs) during corneal epithelial tissue engineering. Methods: Rabbit corneal limbal epithelium was cultured on amniotic membrane containing live stromal cells (L-dAM) or amniotic membrane with dead stromal cells (D-dAM). Morphological and microstructural characteristics of in vitro-expanded rabbit limbal epithelial sheets were evaluated using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Stemness properties and differentiation status were assessed through colony forming efficiency (CFE) assays and immunofluorescence staining of ΔNp63α, PAX6, Ki67, and K14. Gene expression in the limbal epithelial sheets was analyzed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. Transcriptomic alterations in LSCs and AMSCs were decoded through RNA sequencing. Intracellular NAD+ dynamics were quantified via liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry/metabolomics and enzymatic NAD+/NADH ratio assays. Results: LSCs cultured on L-dAM exhibited superior tight junction integrity and colony-forming capacity compared with those on D-dAM, with upregulated expression of ΔNp63α, PAX6, Ki67, and K14, alongside downregulated expression of K12. Nicotinamide supplementation in D-dAM cultures restored NAD+-dependent stem cell homeostasis, achieving functional equivalence to L-dAM through complete recovery of CFE and coordinated molecular restitution of stem/progenitor markers with sustained K12 inhibition. Mechanistically, co-cultured AMSCs transferred NAD+ via exosomes to maintain LSC homeostasis, as evidenced by vesicle inhibition causing NAD+ depletion, stemness exhaustion, and accelerated differentiation. Conclusions: AMSCs could promote limbal epithelial stem cell expansion, offering clinical implication for corneal epithelial tissue engineering.

Indexed as

AmnionEpithelium, CornealLimbus CorneaeStromal CellsTissue EngineeringAnimalsBlotting, WesternCell DifferentiationCell ProliferationCells, CulturedLimbal Stem CellsMicroscopy, Electron, ScanningRabbitsReal-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction

Identifiers

PMID42606191
PMCPMC13492556

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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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.