PURPOSE To test whether adherens junction proteins are present in the epithelium and the endothelium of corneal equivalents. METHODS Corneal cell types were harvested from human eyes and grown separately. Stromal equivalents were constructed by seeding fibroblasts into a collagen gel on which epithelial and endothelial cells were added on each side. Alternatively, bovine endothelial cells wer...

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of down-regulation of Aquaporin 1 (AQP1) and Aquaporin 5 (AQP5) on cell proliferation and migration in human corneal endothelial (HCEC) and human corneal epithelial (CEPI17) cell lines, respectively. METHODS AQP1 and AQP5 were down regulated using siRNA following lipofectamine-mediated transfection in corneal endothelial and epith...

To maintain corneal transparency, corneal endothelial cells (CECs) exert a pump function against aqueous inflow. However, human CECs are arrested in the G1-phase and non-proliferative in vivo. Thus, treatment of corneal endothelial decompensation is limited to corneal transplantation, and grafts are vulnerable to immune rejection. Here, we show that ribonuclease (RNase) 5 is more highly express...

PURPOSE The purposes of this study were to determine whether entactin/nidogen (E/N) is synthesized and secreted by corneal endothelial cells and to characterize the distribution of E/N in the human cornea. METHODS Cultured bovine corneal endothelial cells were metabolically labeled with [35S]methionine. Newly synthesized E/N was detected in cell lysates and culture medium by immunoprecipitati...

Human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (HBMSCs) have the potential to differentiate into cells such as adipocyte, osteocyte, hepatocyte and endothelial cells. In this study, the differentiation of hBMSCs into endothelial like-cells was induced in presence of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1). The differentiated endothelial cells were exam...

Methods. Human corneal endothelial cells were transfected with the SV40 large T antigen-coding plasmid pSV3neo using the electroporation method. Transfected and control cells were propagated in culture until senescence. Polymerase chain reaction and immunofluorescence were used to demonstrate messenger RNA and protein, respectively, for the Simian virus 40 large T antigen in the transfected cel...

new blood forming vessels are produced by differentiation of mesodermal precursor cells to angioblasts that become endothelial cells (ecs) which in turn give rise to primitive capillary network. human cord blood (hcb) contains large subsets of mononuclear cells (mncs) that can be differentiated into endothelial-like cells in vitro. human mononuclear progenitor cells were purified from fresh umb...

The culture of human corneal endothelial cells (CECs) is critical for the development of suitable graft alternative on biodegradable material, specifically for endothelial keratoplasty, which can potentially alleviate the global shortage of transplant-grade donor corneas available. However, the propagation of slow proliferative CECs in vitro can be hindered by rapid growing stromal corneal fibr...

OBJECTIVE To establish a reproducible method for the culture of primary equine corneal epithelial cells, keratocytes, and endothelial cells and to describe each cell's morphologic characteristics, immunocytochemical staining properties and conditions required for cryopreservation. PROCEDURES Corneas from eight horses recently euthanized for reasons unrelated to this study were collected asept...