Effect of extracellular matrix on the growth behavior of corneal endothelial cells to poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) film

Corneal endothelium is mono-inner cell layer of cornea and lay on Descmet's membrane which comprised of various proteins called extracellular matrix such as fibronectin, collagen, laminin, and proteoglycan, etc. In this study, we fabricated transparent poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) film because PLGA is widely used for tissue engineering based on their properties. We investigated the behaviors of rabbit corneal endothelial cells (rCEnCs) on PLGA film surfaces coated with various cell-adhesive molecules like fibronectin, laminin, collagen type I and IV and FNC coating mix. The morphologic images, proliferation and adhesion assay, immunofluorescence for ZO-1 and Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase and RT-PCR for expression of specific markers were conducted. These results showed that PLGA film plays a role as CEnC carriers in vitro and the cell-adhesive molecules give positive effects on the behaviors of rCEnC.