Mass culture of human corneal endothelial cells
J. L. Baum, R. Niedra, C. Davis and B. Y. Yue
Human corneal endothelial cells have been grown in mass culture for the
first time to our knowledge. Cultures from donors who were under 20 years
of age grew well. Cells from older donors were difficult to grow or did not
grow at all. Initial outgrowth usually began one week after explantation.
After an initial lag phase, mass increased by 15% weekly, and confluency
was approached in eight to nine weeks. The lag phase of growth correlated
with the age of the donor. A basal lamina was secreted by human corneal
endothelial cells in culture. Chromosomal counts demonstrated a modal
number of 46. With this technique, sufficient human corneal endothelial
cells may be obtained for biochemical investigation.
