[Organotypic culture of human corneal epithelium. Preliminary results]

The authors compared the growth of limbal and central explants removed from human cornea. Epithelial growth began on the third day, was greater during the first week and was subsequently slightly invaded by fibroblasts. This study demonstrated that peripheral corneal epithelial cells growth better than central cells. In this study, the cytologic and histologic features of the cells were examined. However, epithelial immunofluorescence staining by anti-cytokeratin antibodies was rather poor. This in vitro system may provide a suitable model for epithelial human corneal cell culture, allowing further biocompatibility studies.