N-cadherin is expressed by putative stem/progenitor cells and melanocytes in the human limbal epithelial stem cell niche

¹ Department of Ophthalmology, Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan
² Institute of Advanced Biomedical Engineering and Science, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Tokyo, Japan
³ Department of Ophthalmology, Osaka University Medical School, Suita, Japan

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: knishida{at}oph.med.tohoku.ac.jp.

	Abstract

Corneal epithelial stem cells are known to be localized to the basal layer of the limbal epithelium, providing a model system for epithelial stem cell biology; however the mechanisms regarding the maintenance of these stem cells in their specialized niche remain poorly understood. N-cadherin is a member of the classical cadherin family and has previously been demonstrated to be expressed by hematopoietic stem cells. In the present study, we demonstrate that N-cadherin is expressed by putative stem/progenitor cells as well as melanocytes in the human limbal epithelial stem cell niche. Additionally, we demonstrate that upon in vitro culture using 3T3 feeder layers, loss of N-cadherin expression occurs with cell proliferation. These results indicate that N-cadherin may be a critical cell-to-cell adhesion molecule between corneal epithelial stem/progenitor cells and their corresponding niche cells in the limbal epithelium.

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