[Age-related changes in cellular activity in organ and tissue cultures of the human cornea]

Human autopsy eyes and material of eyes enucleated by various causes were used to prepare explants of the whole chamber angle and isolated stroma corneae for organ and tissue cultures. The age-related changes in chamber angle explants are obscured by interactions of the different cell types. In 75 human stroma explants aged from 5 weeks to 93 years the latent period for cell activation (i.e. the time needed for the activation of cells revealed by histological methods) shows its lowest values in cases under 20 years of age. The latent period for outgrowth of cells is not significantly related to age. The long-term reorganization of the tissue structure in the explants is disturbed in higher age.