Corneal Epithelial-Like Transdifferentiation of Hair Follicle Stem Cells Is Mediated by PAX6 and β-Catenin/LEF-1

The study demonstrated that hair follicle bulge keratinocyte stem cells (KSCs) could transdifferentiate into corneal epithelial-like cells, highlighting their potential for therapeutic applications in bioengineered corneas. The transdifferentiation process was facilitated by the upregulation of pax6 and the downregulation of β-catenin and Lef-1. The research showed that bulge KSCs, isolated by collagen type IV adhesiveness, exhibited high colony formation efficiency and expressed specific markers such as CD34 and α6-integrin. When cultured in a conditioned medium containing corneal limbus soluble factors, these cells expressed keratin12, a specific marker of corneal epithelial cells. Overexpression of pax6 further induced the expression of k12 in bulge KSCs, suggesting a pivotal role of pax6 in this transdifferentiation process.