Immortalized Continuous Cell Lines for Corneal Epithelial Cells

Immortalized Continuous Cell Lines for Corneal Epithelial Cells 

The first immortalized cell line to gain major impact in the development of corneal epithelial cell clones was the rabbit corneal epithelial cell line (RCE, also known as K RCE) introduced by Araki et al. in 1993 [51], Corneal epithelial cells from a New Zealand albino rabbit were transfected with an SV40-vector. After transfection, the cells grew with cobblestone-like appearance and showed stratification, desmosomes, microvilli, and some typical types of 

There are many immortalized human corneal epithelial cell models that gained high acceptance for various ocular studies (e.g., toxicity testing and corneal epithelial transport Table 12.1). 

The HCE-T model was established in 1995 by Araki-Sasaki and coworkers [56], It was formed by transfection of human corneal epithelial cells from a 47-year-old female donor with a recombinant SV40-adenovirus, which lacked the origin of viral replication (i.e., not able to produce viral particles). The cell line has good growth characteristics and shows a cobblestone-like appearance. The cell line is intensively used by Urtti and coworkers and represents a standard 

Reconstituted HCE (order no. RHC/S/5) is available from Skinethic, Nice, France. It consists of transformed human corneal epithelial cells immortalized by Roger Beuerman from the Louisiana State University-Eye Center, New Orleans, USA. This reconstituted human corneal epithelium forms a multilayered cell culture model that does not exhibit tight junctions and is therefore unsuitable for in vitro drug transport studies. Main focus of the model is eye irritation and toxicity testing and it is commonly used in this area with good prediction qualities. Major advantage of this model is the high reproducibility and uniform appearance. The commercial availability provides a ready-to-use model that is easy to handle. 

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