Effect of hyaluronate on the growth and autocrine property of the stromal fibroblasts and its subsequent effect on epithelial cell growth in an in vitro conjunctival equivalent

Ray Jui-Fang Tsai*, J. K. Chen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal Article peer-review

Abstract

Purpose: Our previous results demonstrated that fibroblasts and hyaluronate modulate the differentiation of conjunctival epithelial cells in an in vitro conjunctival equivalent (ARVO abstract 1994). In this study, we employed the same experimental system to analyze the effect of stromal hyaluronate on the proliferation of and cytokine production by rabbits conjunctival fibroblasts, and its subsequent effect on the growth of the conjunctival epithelial cells. Method & Results: Initially, rabbit conjunctival fibroblasts (RCF) were cultured in/on collagen gel containing graded concentrations of hyalurunate(HA). The inclusion of HA in collagen gel promoted HCF growth. We next compared the autocrine properties of HCF cultured on plastic surface and in/on collagen gels with and without HA. We found that the synthesis of bFGF by HCF was promoted by the presence of HA in the stromal gels. To examine how this may affect the growth of epithelial cells, we cultured rabbit conjunctival epithelial cells (RCE) on acellular collagen gels with and without HA and the culture medium was supplemented with graded doses of bFGF. Basic FGF promoted RCE growth on collagen gels, regardless of the presence or absence of HA, however, the bFGF promoting effect was reduced in HA-containing cultures. How HA reduces bFGF growth promotion is currently unclear and requires further investigation. However, the results indicate that HA can promote stromal fibroblasts to synthesize more bFGF, and such stromal bFGF may act in a paracrine fashion to promote RCE growth. Conclusion: The results further supported the idea that fibroblasts in collagen gels modulated the epithelial cell proliferation and differentiation and HA may play a regulatory function in this system.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)S1005
JournalInvestigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science
Volume37
Issue number3
StatePublished - 15 02 1996

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