Purpose: To establish the culture of human iris pigment epithelial cells in vitro and study the freezing-state preservation and resusciation.
Methods: The iris pigment epithelial specimens from human eyes were cultured in vitro. Based on the cell-frozen principle, the cultured cells were collected, then frozen in liquid nitrogen and resuscitation.
Results: Cultured iris pigment epithelial cells were obtained. Under the inverted light microscope, primary cells appeared multigonal and arranged in monolayer, there were abundant pigment granules in the cytoplasm and the nuclei each of which contained 1 or 2 nuceoli wre relatively transparent. Under the transmission electron microscope, there were plenty of microvilli at the cell membrane and desmosomes present in the intercellular space. 6 groups of cells were frozen. The resuscitation exeriment was carried out for 4 times, every times being successful. All of the resuscitated rates were more than 90%.
Conclusion: The human iris pigment epithelial cells were cultured in vitro successfully, they can also be frozen and resuscitated, which will be useful in studies of pathogenesis for some eye disease.