AIM:Todeterminetheproliferativepotentialandthemaintenanceofstemcellactivityinstoredhumanlimbaltissues,andcorrelatethiswiththepreservationtime,cellviabilityandtheexpressionofstemcellmarkers.METHODS:Thirtylimbalrimsweresplitinto4partsandstoredincornealpreservationmediumat4℃for0,1,4,or7days.ThelimbalstemcellandmitoticmarkersP63,CK19,proliferatingcellnuclearantigen(PCNA),andKi67weredeterminedbyimmunohistochemicalstaining.Theproliferativepotentialoflimbalepithelialcellswasassessedbycellviability,theabilityofgeneratingstratifiedepithelium,andcolonyformingassay.RESULTS:Thestoredtissuesmaintainedlimbalstratifiedstructureto7daysandexhibitedcomparableexpressionlevelofstemcellandmitoticmarkers.Theproportionofviablecellsdecreasedwiththeprolongedpreservationtime,whilecolonyformingefficiencydecreasedfromthe1stdayanddisappearedatthe4thday.Wheninoculatedonamnioticmembrane,thecellspreservedfor1dayformedastratifiedepithelium,whilethecellsfrom4days’preservationformedadiscontinuouslayer.CONCLUSION:Thecolonyformingefficiencyoflimbalepithelialstem/progenitorcellsdecreasedrapidlywiththeincreasingpreservationtime,whiletheexpressionlevelofmarkersandcapacityofformingepithelialmonolayeronamnioticmembranedecreasedgradually.Thelimbalepithelialstemcellslosttheirfunctionearlierthanthelostexpressionlevelofstemcellmarkers.Thismayhelpustobetterchoosetheappropriatepreservationgraftsforfuturelimbalstemcelltransplantation.
