Immortalized Human Corneal Epithelial Cells-SV40

The corneal epithelium, a self-renewing, stratified epithelial sheet, constitutes the first line of defense against invading microorganisms. The homeostatic mechanisms regulating the normal physiological renewal of the epithelial sheet, involving proliferation, differentiation, and desquamation, are crucial for maintaining this intact barrier function. The underlying molecular interactions responsible for the balance and coordination of these processes, however, are still not well defined.

Cultured human corneal epithelial (HCE) cells could provide an efficient model for the study of cellular signaling and molecular pathways regulating normal corneal epithelial cell homeostasis. However, primary cultures of HCE cells can only be passaged a limited number of times before they undergo growth arrest and irreversible senescence.

In 1995, Araki-Sasaki et al. established a simian virus (SV)40-induced HCE cell line as an in vitro model for human corneal epithelial cells. Although several types of cell line currently exist for this specific epithelial cell type, the SV40-immortalized HCE cell line appears to be the one most favored and frequently used, possibly because it is free of infectious virus particles and is easy to maintain. The SV40-immortalized HCE cell line has historically been used for a range of studies, most of which are involved in drug development, elucidation of cellular signaling pathways,or molecular interactions maintaining homeostasis of normal corneal epithelial cells.