Human neonatal corneal endothelial cells were successfully maintained in tissue culture, morphologically resembling adult corneal endothelium. Eyebank donor corneas were obtained, denuded of their native endothelium and seeded with a suspension of the cultivated neonatal endothelial cells. After 48 hours, the eye-bank tissue was then transplanted into the eyes of Rhesus monkeys. Over a five month period, five of eight transplants cleared, with a mean central corneal thickness of 0.480 mm and endothelial cell densities ranging from 560 to 1650 cells/mm2. All control eyes without donor endothelium remained cloudy. In the experimental group three eyes initially thinned but subsequently became edematous. Further studies are needed to improve the seeding procedure and to assess the long-term viability of transplanted endothelium.
Fresh isolates of neonatal human corneal endothelial cells were maintained in tissue culture using a technique employing collagen-coated, dextran-based microcarrier beads. This method provides large yields of endothelial cells suitable for biochemical and/or transplant studies without exposing the cells to enzymatic passage. Our results suggest that microcarrier culture of human corneal endothelial cells can provide a useful in vitro system for the growth and maintenance of actively mitotic cells.
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