[Planting and biological character of rabbit corneal epithelial cells on amniotic membrane]

This study was aimed at investigating the cultivation and biological character of corneal epithelial cells (ECs) planted on intact and denued amniotic membrane (AM) as a substrate and trying to find out satisfactory methods for the reconstruction of corneal epithelium using tissue engineering. Rabbit corneal epithelial cells were planted on denuded AM and intact AM respectively. The cultivated corneal epithelial sheet was examined by use of inverted microscope, HE staining pathologyical section and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and was also detected immunohistochemically. The results revealed that rabbit corneal ECs grew slowly and were difficult to stick and converge on intact AM, whereas they were easy to grow and proliferate on denuded AM. The cultivated corneal ECs showed four to five layers of stratification composed of the basement membrane of AM and multiple layers of corneal ECs showed the presence of CK3. TEM unveiled that the multiple layers of corneal ECs had numerous desmosomal junctions attaching to the basement membrane with hemidesmosomes. Therefore, the above cultivated corneal epithelial sheet can be used as engineering tissue for ocular surface reconstruction.