Effects of corneal stromal cell- and bone marrow-derived endothelial progenitor cell-conditioned media on the proliferation of corneal endothelial cells

AIM： To explore the effects of conditioned media on the proliferation of corneal endothelial cells （CECa） and to compare the efficiency of different conditioned media （CM）. METHODS： Rat CECs, corneal stromal cells （CSCs）, bone marrow -derived endothelial progenitor cells （BEPCs）, and bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells （BMSCs） were isolated and cultured in vitra CM was collected from CSCs, BEPCs, and BMSCSo CECs were cultivated in different culture media. Cell morphology was recorded, and gene and protein expression were analyzed.~ RESULTS： After grown in CM for 5d, CECs in each experimental group remained polygonal, in a cobblestone- like monolayer arrangement. Immunocytofluorescence revealed positive expression of Na＋/K＋-ATP, aquaporin 1 （AQP1）, and zonula occludens 1 （ZO-1）. Based on quantitative polymerase chain reaction （qPCR） analysis, Na ＋/K ＋-ATP expression in CSC-CM was notably upregulated by 1.3-fold （＋0.036） （P〈0.05, n=3）. The expression levels of ZO-1, neuron specific enolase （NSE）, Vimentin, paired homebox 6 （PAX6）, and procollagen type VII （COL8A1） were notably upregulated in each experimental group. Each CM had a positive effect on CEC proliferation, and CSC-CM had the strongest effect on proliferation.~ CONCLUSION： CSC-CM, BEPC-CM, and BMSC-CM not only stimulated the proliferation of CECs, but also maintained the characteristic differentiated phenotypes necessary for endothelial functions. CSC-CM had the most notable effect on CEC proliferation. KEYWORDS： conditioned medium; corneal endothelial cell; corneal stromal cell; bone marrow-derived endothelial progenitor cell; proliferation