CONJUNCTIVAL EPITHELIAL-CELLS IN CULTURE-GROWTH AND GOBLET CELL-DIFFERENTIATION

Conjunctival epithelial cell growth and differentiation were studied b y cultivating cells on tissue culture plastic surface and on natural s ubstrata such as collagen gel and matrigel((R)). Well-differentiated g oblet cells were unable to attach in plastic cultures and could only b e preserved in collagen gel- or matrigel((R))- based cultures. Percoll density fractionation experiment suggested that, in the primary conju nctival epithelial cells, there were precursor cells for goblet and no n-goblet epithelial cells. The goblet cell phenotypic expression of th ese precursor cells was influenced by the surface to which they attach and by the serum factors. The PAS and AM-1 positive cells could also be induced when the precursor cells are cultured on collagen gels in s erum-free define medium supplemented with retinoic acid. To study how the goblet cell precursors are differentiated and from what stem cells they are derived, it is necessary to develop a culture system with a better mimicry of the in vivo conjunctival tissue. In this regard, we developed an in vitro 'conjunctival equivalent', in which the epitheli al cells were cultured on fibroblast-contracted collagen lattice to al low continued cross-interactions of the epithelial and mesenchymal cel ls. This experimental model should allow experimental inquiries that a re difficult, if not impossible, in conventional cell cultures. Copyri ght (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.