Human Corneal Epithelial Cells

The corneal epithelium, originated from the surface ectoderm, is an avascular and transparent tissue composed of about 5-7 layers of nonkeratinized, stratified squamous epithelial cells. Corneal epithelial cells adhesion is maintained by desmosomes while the corneal epithelial basal cells attached to the underlying basal membrane through hemidesmosomes and anchoring system. Despite being a primary barrier to physical injury and infection, corneal epithelium is also important for ocular immune response, where cells recognize pathogens through toll-like receptor and recruit inflammatory cells into cornea by producing inflammatory cytokines and chemokine. Regeneration of corneal epithelium, supported by limbus stem cells, is an essential process for corneal maintenance or injury-induced repair.

Application
Corneal epithelial cell culture model has been used in a wide range of basic ocular studies such as cell attachment, toxicological tests, stem cell and self-repair mechanism, micronutrient transport, inflammatory and immune response. The corneal epithelial cells provide an ideal in vitro model which is easy to use and best represents the native corneal epithelial cells properties and characteristics.