Growth of human corneal endothelium on altered Descemet's membrane.
To determine whether Descemet's membrane (DM), which is altered by disease, interferes with endothelial cell growth, healthy human corneal endothelial cells were seeded onto DM from normal corneas and diseased corneal buttons from patients with Fuchs' endothelial dystrophy and pseudophakic bullous keratopathy (PBK). DM was first peeled off the corneal specimens and the endothelial cells removed by trypsinization. A suspension of first-passage corneal endothelial cells (2,000 cells/microliters; obtained from donor eye bank eyes and grown in Dulbecco's minimal essential medium with 10% fetal bovine serum and 1.5% chondroitin sulfate) were seeded on DM. Epidermal growth factor (10 ng/ml) and insulin (1 U/ml) were added to the medium after seeding cells on the DM. The cells attached and flattened within 1 hour and reached confluency in 1 week on normal DM. Cells grown on DM from corneas of patients with Fuchs' endothelial dystrophy also flattened and grew to confluency in 1 week. Cells grown on DM from corneas of patients with PBK did not grow to confluency. Further studies with bovine and rabbit corneal endothelial cells showed similar growth pattern to human cells. These data indicate that DM from corneas of patients with Fuchs' dystrophy does not interfere with the growth of corneal endothelial cells but that DM from corneas of patients with PBK does interfere with cell growth.
Raphael
B
B
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Kentucky Lions Eye Research Institute, University of Louisville School of Medicine 40292.
Lange
T
T
Wood
T O
TO
McLaughlin
B J
BJ
D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003316:Corneal Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D046508:Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods; D003886:Descemet Membrane / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004728:Endothelium, Corneal / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005642:Fuchs' Endothelial Dystrophy / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D011817:Rabbits