Rabbit corneal endothelial cells in vitro: effects of EGF.

Rabbit corneal endothelial cells were grown in tissue culture. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) increased the mitotic rate during the growth phase by 70% over control without affecting the plating efficiency. Within 48 hr of exposure to EGF, the endothelial cells became spindle-shaped. This morphological change was quantitated by morphometry; cells treated with EGF had a major axis 1.5 X larger than that of non-EGF treated cells. The spindle-shaped morphological change did not occur in response to other growth factors, was not related to cell density, and was reversible within 24 hr after removal of EGF from the media or subculture in the absence of EGF. The addition of 5-fluorouracil blocked cell division but did not affect the EGF-induced morphological change. The appearance of the endothelial cells following EGF stimulation is similar to migrating cells closing a wound in vivo.