{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]],"date-time":"2026-08-19T20:16:04Z","timestamp":1787170564630,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":207,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,5]],"date-time":"2026-01-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1767571200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001659","name":"Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["SFB1607"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["SFB1607"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001659","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001659","name":"Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["FOR2240"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["FOR2240"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001659","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001659","name":"Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["EXC 2030 - 390661388"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["EXC 2030 - 390661388"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001659","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"EU RestoreVision","award":["EU RestoreVision"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["EU RestoreVision"]}]},{"name":"STEM-CORE MSCA","award":["STEM-CORE MSCA"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["STEM-CORE MSCA"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Cells"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The cornea maintains transparency by preserving immune and (lymph)angiogenic privilege through active suppression of inflammation and vascular invasion, a process centrally regulated by limbal epithelial stem cells (LESCs) located at the corneoscleral junction. Beyond renewing the corneal epithelium, LESCs maintain immune and vascular balance via extracellular matrix interactions and paracrine signalling, exerting predominantly anti-inflammatory and anti-(lymph)angiogenic effects in vivo. Disruption of the limbal niche by trauma, UV exposure, or genetic disorders such as aniridia leads to limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD), chronic inflammation, loss of corneal avascularity, and vision loss. The identification of ABCB5 as a key LESC marker has clarified functional limbal subsets, highlighting ABCB5+ epithelial cells as mediators of repair, remodelling, and immune suppression, and positioning them as promising therapeutic targets for treatments that restore both epithelial integrity and corneal immune privilege.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/cells15010091","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,5]],"date-time":"2026-01-05T16:07:07Z","timestamp":1767629227000},"page":"91","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Limbal Epithelial Stem Cells in Review: Immune and Lymphangiogenic Privilege and Their Clinical Relevance"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-3646-3823","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Berbang","family":"Meshko","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, 50923 K\u00f6ln, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3519-1359","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Thomas","family":"Volatier","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, 50923 K\u00f6ln, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1958-411X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Claus","family":"Cursiefen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, 50923 K\u00f6ln, Germany"},{"name":"Cluster of Excellence for Aging Research (CECAD), Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, 50923 K\u00f6ln, Germany"},{"name":"Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, 50923 K\u00f6ln, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maria","family":"Notara","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, 50923 K\u00f6ln, Germany"},{"name":"Cluster of Excellence for Aging Research (CECAD), Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, 50923 K\u00f6ln, Germany"},{"name":"Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, 50923 K\u00f6ln, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"198","DOI":"10.1016\/j.brainresbull.2009.05.019","article-title":"Corneal transparency: Genesis, maintenance and dysfunction","volume":"81","author":"Qazi","year":"2010","journal-title":"Brain Res. 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