Skip to main content

Corneal Keratocyte

The cornea in which we have known is that this is the most anterior part of the eye. The function of the cornea is that is sets as a protection to the other layers of the eyes such the pupil, iris and even the anterior chamber that helps in providing the 2/3 of the power of the eye refraction.

The corneal keratocyte play an essential function in the eye. This keeps off the layer of it to be 80 up to 90% thickness that promotes to help the eye. The buildup the composed of the layer of the eye are the collagenous lamellae and the extracellular matrix components, these help build the layer to be stronger and thick that protect it. The corneal keratocytes are some specialized fibroblasts that reside in the stroma of the eye. One of the critical function of the corneal keratocyte is this is its ability to act during injury. They basically can easily respond and shift in the restoration of the injury, and mostly they help the phenotypes to be reestablished during the damage. Other than that, the corneal keratocyte keeps it transparent. They serve as the clear sheet that covers the eye that can help in protection. Lastly, the last major role that corneal keratocyte creates to the eye is that it manufactures its components.

Other from the restoration of the phenotypes that happen during injury, the corneal keratocyte helps build up other components that help in the protection of the eye. When it comes to the point when the corneal keratocyte become damaged or distorted there is some disorder that one may be able to experience that can lead to serious condition. One example of a disorder in the corneal is keratoconus, and this is still being researched for further examination. The keratoconus disorder, on the other hand, is a lot more complicated condition as you think, the loss or reduction of the corneal keratocyte in the corneal stroma can lead to thinning of the layer of the eye. The cause of the reduction of the corneal keratocyte is due from apoptosis.

Upon the complication that one can encounter in losing their corneal keratocyte may lead to ectasia that is characterized by it is thinning and called as the conical cornea. As you can see, the keratocyte plays an important role in the eye, and the deficiency can cause serious damage that can also include the other layers and parts of the eye. When the eye loses is the main anterior protection, there will be more to encounter. At this point, the kind of treatment that can offer is corneal transplantation. This procedure is to find a donor that is willing to give their cornea, but this kind of operation is not a 100% success, this kind of action can also be complicated when the receiver has an immunological refusal to the donor’s cornea and can cause implant failure.

Since the transplantation treatment can no longer be visible, for it is not that successful in this kind of operation, the focus of researches is where they can be some cell type therapies that can be given to the people with corneal keratocyte deficiency. The cell is said to be able to regenerate and reprogram cells can help in this kind of situation. It has been clarified that the adult somatic cells, specifically from men or what we call the stem cells, can give further treatment in this kind of condition. Further, these stem cells can help appendage the lack of corneal keratocyte and can easily treat keratoconus overtime. This kind of treatment creates a wider scope in treatment since there are more resources and it happens to generate over time. The component called the Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell or the hiPSC can be used for different function including retinal restoration.

The usage of this process in curing the keratoconus disorder other deficiency that can be cured by this course is much less problematic than using another type of treatments. One of each is the unlimited resources, and another is that this kind of aid reduces the problem immunological rejection of the cornea. The simple function of the hiPSCs is that they serve as a reprogrammed cell that used to support the deficiency of the cell rather than going to some serious transplant.

In the process of the hiPSCs creates a study on the proper method in creating the stem cells to be a keratocyte structured phenotype. There are some materials and methodology that is needed to be followed to proclaim success during the process. There is such as the tissue culture, NCC production, the 3D culturing, Limbal rim assay, cryosectioning, immunohistochemistry, and lastly, is the quantitative real-time PCR. This is a long process in creating the method of replacing the keratocytes in the cornea using only pluripotent stem cells. Until now, the process is still undergoing some serious lecture and finding new techniques and approaches that the hiPSCs can be a huge help in the world of medicinal purposes one day.

Clinical Significance of the Corneal Keratocyte

Upon the rising corneal disorder, the corneal keratocytes played an important role in this kind of disorder. One type of the most known keratocyte deficiency or disorder is keratoconus.his frequent form of the corneal dystrophy that can lead to some severe defect in the eyes. People experiencing keratoconic corneas may have already constrained in apoptosis from back then other than epithelial injury. An epithelial injury is present during the lack of corneal keratocyte or the increase of keratocyte apoptosis in their eyes that leads to the keratoconus disorder. There is a wide array of different types and forms of how to lack keratocyte in the cornea. And there is no successful type of treatment in conducting any methods in curing keratoconus. The stem cells recreation is still being researched and tested to prove some credible outcome in the said treatment of corneal keratocyte deficiency.