Role of a regulatory protein from the bovine cornea in activation of cell sources of corneal regeneration in vitro

A highly purified regulatory protein isolated from the bovine cornea (RPC) was tested for the effect on the rat and newt corneas in vitro under different culture conditions. In the newt cornea, RPC stimulated limbus epithelial cells in roller cultures and cells in the basal layer of corneal epithelium in both roller and stationary cultures. In roller cultures of the rat cornea, RPC had no effect on weakly differentiated limbus cells but stimulated progenitor cells of the basal cornea layer to differentiation into definitive epithelial cells. In stationary cultures, RPC did not activate the involvement of cells in regeneration of the rat corneal tissue.