MSC-CM and NIH3T3-CM maintain corneal endothelial phenotype <i>in vitro</i> expansion.

<p>(A) Effect of MSC-CM on morphology of primary cultures of HCECs. Representative phase-contrast images of primary culture from different CMs. Cultured HCECs were maintained in basal growth medium, MSC-CM, or NIH3T3-CM for 30 days. Scale bar: 200 µm. (B) HCECs cultured in either MSC-CM or NIH3T3-CM for 14 days expressed ZO-1 and Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase. The pictures are representative of 2 independent experiments. (C) Expression of genes involved in the active transmembrane transporter activity in HCECs cultured with both NIH3T3-CM and MSC-CM was assessed by RT-PCR. The experiments were performed in duplicate.