Corneal epithelial cells (CECs) play an important role in the function of the cornea, and are maintained by corneal epithelial stem cells (CESCs). Recent studies have shown that neuronal growth factors affect the proliferation and migration of CESCs. Neuregulin-1 (NR-1) is a neuronal growth factor that is expressed in the early stages of brain development. The aim of this study was to determine whether NR-1 activates corneal wound healing. We observed that NR-1 activated both proliferation and migration of CECs. In addition, the colony-forming efficacy of CESCs was enhanced. In mice, NR-1 treatment improved corneal wound healing. Furthermore, the expression of markers of corneal epithelium maintenance (ΔNp63) and CESC proliferation (Bmi-1 and Abcg2) was increased. These effects were mediated by intracellular signalling pathways (Stat3, Erk1/2 and p38). Taken together, our results suggest that NR-1 accelerates the recovery of corneal wounds, and may represent a novel treatment for corneal damage.

角膜上皮细胞（CEC）在角膜功能中起重要作用，并由角膜上皮干细胞（CESC）维持。最近的研究表明，神经元生长因子影响CESC的增殖和迁移。Neuregulin-1（NR-1）是一种神经元生长因子，在大脑发育的早期阶段表达。这项研究的目的是确定NR-1是否激活角膜伤口愈合。我们观察到，NR-1激活了CEC的增殖和迁移。另外，增强了CESC的集落形成功效。在小鼠中，NR-1处理可改善角膜伤口愈合。此外，角膜上皮维持标志物（ΔNp63）和CESC增殖（Bmi-1和Abcg2）的表达增加。这些作用是由细胞内信号通路（Stat3，Erk1 / 2和p38）。综上所述，我们的结果表明NR-1加速了角膜伤口的恢复，并且可能代表了一种新的角膜损伤治疗方法。