To study the overall protein composition of the CE-EVs, protein identification proteomics using LC-MS/MS was performed. All proteins found in the CE-EVs are presented in Table and the proteins with the highest Intensity-Based Absolute Quantification (IBAQ) values are shown in Figure . Previous studies have investigated the protein content of CE-EVs and suggested that thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1), fibronectin, and other provisional extracellular matrix proteins are important components for corneal wound healing. Herein we have studied the difference in protein abundance for CE-EVs and CE-cells to assess which proteins have been enriched in the EVs and therefore, indicate their importance as signaling molecules. The most enriched proteins are shown in Figure and all enhanced proteins are presented in Figure . TSP-1, 2, and 3 were the most enriched proteins in the CE-EVs (1874 times). TSP-1 has been demonstrated to be highly expressed in the early stages of corneal wound healing and is known to activate the latent form of transforming growth factor  (TGF-) which in turn can promote myofibroblast differentiation. TSP-2 has also been linked to corneal wound healing but is instead involved in the remodeling of the ECM at the later stages of healing by modulation of MMP-2 (72 kDa type IV collagenase) and MMP-9 (92 kDa type IV collagenase) which were both also found in the CE-EVs (Table ). The second most enriched protein was the Complement C3, which is a key component of the complement system and has a role in inflammation induction and immune cell recruitment. The complement system is a part of the immune defense, which not only protects the body against foreign pathogens but has also been suggested to play a significant role in wound healing. In the CE-EVs, complement C3 was enriched 993 times (Figure ), and several other components of the complement system (Complement C1r, C1s, factor I, factor H, factor B, C4-A, and C4-B) were exclusively found in the CE-EVs (Table ), suggesting their importance for wound healing. This is supported by literature that has demonstrated complement C3 to be involved in tissue regeneration (e.g. in the retina of chicks ). Moreover, serotransferrin was enriched 860 times in the CE-EVs (Figure ) and is an important iron transporter in the body. Iron is involved in several biological processes such as cell proliferation and proper functioning of immune cells, both of which are processes involved in corneal wound healing and could potentially explain the abundance of serotransferrin in the CE-EVs. In accordance with previous studies of corneal epithelial EVs and with the western blot results, fibronectin was highly enriched (264 times) in the CE-EVs compared to CE-cells according to proteomics (Figure ). Fibronectin has been proven important for corneal wound healing acting as a temporary scaffold for migrating epithelial cells. Another enhanced protein in the CE-EVs was the galectin-3 binding protein (LGALS3BP) (enriched 106 times) (Figure ).