corneal epithelial stem cell supernatant

Corneal epithelial stem cell supernatant is a topical biologic therapy developed by researchers at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) for the treatment of severe dry eye disease (DED). The product is derived from the secretome of expanded human corneal epithelial stem cells (CESCs) harvested from donor limbal tissue. Unlike traditional stem cell therapies that require surgical transplantation, this approach uses a cell-free supernatant formulated as eye drops, which contains various growth factors and cytokines that promote the regeneration of damaged ocular surface tissues and reduce inflammation. A pilot clinical study published in 2021 demonstrated that the therapy significantly improved patient-reported outcomes, including SPEED and OSDI scores, in individuals with severe DED who were refractory to conventional treatments. The therapy is currently undergoing further validation in double-blinded clinical trials.

Other names

corneal epithelial stem cell-derived eye dropsCESC supernatantcorneal epithelial stem cell-derived product