The cornea is a unique tissue for two reasons： the transparency function and the synthesis of most of its proteins due to the cornea being an avascular tissue. The cornea consists of three distinct cell layers, the outer epithelium, the inner endothelium and the central stroma （the keratocytes）. The corneal epithelium plays a role in the innate immune response by sensing the presence of pathogens and providing signals that activate the corneal defense system. It also highly expresses aldehyde dehydrogenase to protect against UV- and 4-hydroxynonenal-induced cellular damage. Corneal epithelial basal cell proliferation is controlled by a host of cytokines, e.g., epidermal growth factor, that activate their cognate receptors in the deeper layers of the epithelium. Instead of testing products in the eyes of animals, cultured corneal epithelial cells could be used for toxicology tests in in vitro models and for studying the molecular mechanisms involved in regulating human corneal epithelial cell differentiation.HCEpiC from AcceGen Research Laboratories are isolated from human cornea. HCEpiC are cryopreserved from passage one culture. Each vial contains ＆gt;5×10^5 cells in 1 ml volume. HCEpiC are characterized by their cobble stone morphology in serum-free culture and immunofluorescent method with antibody to CK-18 and -19. HCEpiC are negative for HIV-1, HBV, HCV, mycoplasma, bacteria, yeast and fungi. HCEpiC are guaranteed to further expand for 10 population doublings at the condition provided by AcceGen Research Laboratories.
