Control of cellular proliferation in the bovine cornea: an in vitro study

Keratocytes from the bovine cornea secrete a factor(s) that stimulates the proliferation of corneal epithelial cells. The novel finding of this study is that this stimulation was only achieved if the epithelial cells were already proliferating. Cells which had stopped growing could not be stimulated to re-enter the growth cycle. This stimulation was not reciprocal; the growth of keratocytes was not stimulated by factor(s) secreted by the epithelium, whereas epithelial factors were able to stimulate the proliferation of thermocytes. The importance of these non-reciprocal growth responses to corneal wound healing and immune response is discussed.