Effect of human vitreous and hyalocyte-derived factors on vascular endothelial cell growth

In the present study we have examined the effects of human vitreous and hyalocyte-conditioned medium on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC).

Human umbilical vein endothelial cells were cultured and treated in quadruplicate with human vitreous and hyalocyte-conditioned medium at different concentrations. Cell numbers were counted on days 1, 3, 5 and 7. Morphological changes and the viability of cells after treatment were also monitored.

The results indicate that both human vitreous and hyalocyte-conditioned medium inhibit proliferation and reduce the viability of HUVEC in vitro. These inhibitory effects were dose- and time-dependent.

The observations suggest that human hyalocytes and vitreous contain anti-angiogenic factors that influence vascular endothelial cell-growth. These results, combined with those of previous studies, may yield important information about the functional role of vitreous and hyalocytes in intraocular vascular regression.