Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 7, 2025
Establishment, Maintenance, Differentiation, Genetic Manipulation, and Transplantation of Mouse and Human Lacrimal Gland Organoids
Published on: February 3, 2023
Establishing human lacrimal gland cultures from biopsy-sized tissue specimens
Luke A Halliday1,2, John P M Wood3,4, Glyn Chidlow1,2
1Discipline of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, Level 7 Adelaide Health and Medical Sciences Building, University of Adelaide, North Terrace, Adelaide, SA, 5000, Australia.
Objectives:
To establish cultures of human lacrimal gland from patient-derived, biopsy-sized, tissue specimens.
Methods:
Tissue was obtained after surgical removal from patients without dry eye disease undergoing routine procedures. Samples were subjected to mechanical and enzymatic digestion and resulting cell suspensions were plated onto collagen-coated glass coverslips and grown for up to 21 days. Cultures were analysed by immunocytochemistry and light microscopy, and resultant cellular distributions were compared to those in sections of fixed human lacrimal gland tissue.
Results:
Dissociation of biopsy-sized pieces of human lacrimal gland and seeding onto coated surfaces allowed development of a mixed population of cells in vitro. Within 7-14 days, cellular aggregation was observed and by 21 days many cells had organised themselves into distinct three-dimensional complexes. Immunohistochemistry revealed a heterogeneous population of cells, including epithelial, myoepithelial, mesenchymal and progenitor cells. Some of the epithelia labelled positively for lysozyme and lactoferrin.
Conclusions:
Collection and dissociation of biopsy-sized pieces of human lacrimal gland leads to a cellular preparation that can proliferate in vitro and organise into three-dimensional structures. This is the first report detailing that biopsy-collected specimens of human lacrimal gland can be used to establish cell cultures.
