Stimulation of Repair of Human Corneal Endothelium in Organ Culture by Mesodermal Growth Factor

Abstract

• Freeze-thaw injuries to human corneas were treated with mesodermal growth factor (MGF) in organ culture to determine whether MGF stimulates repair of human corneal endothelium. Injured, paired corneas were incubated in organ culture in Dulbecco's medium in the presence and absence of MGF for 72 hours. Repair was evaluated in flat-mount preparations by light microscopy. For all donors, MGF accelerated the healing response by a more rapid rate of repopulation of the zone of killed endothelium (dead zone) and by an increased width of the zone of activated cells peripheral to the dead zone. In donors 59 years of age or younger, MGF stimulated an increase in the number of mitotic figures.