Figure 3. Developmental origin of LSC.
(A) Schematic illustration of corneal development. From left to right: Extending neuroepithelium induces the surface ectoderm to form the lens, cornea, conjunctiva and eyelid. Migrating neural crest cells differentiate into corneal endothelium and stromal fibroblasts. (B) Contribution of diverse embryonic layers to the formation of the LSC niche. Current models suggest that LSC could be developmental descendants of the surface ectoderm as well as the periocular mesenchyme.