[Morphological characteristics of epithelial cell line from rat cornea].

Purpose: Morphological characteristics of established cell line (RtCE) derived from rat anterior corneal epithelium.
Material and Methods: Morphology of cultured RtCE cells was evaluated by light and electron microscopy. Anterior corneal epithelium of rat served as control.
Results: Both in light and electron microscope we observed morphological similarity with anterior corneal epithelium (several layers of cells, numerous desmosomal connections). Moreover, similar morphological changes were observed in relation to the control material, i.e. degeneration and flattening of cells in superficial layers.
Conclusions: The morphological analysis of RtCE cell line proves its usefulness for further cytomorphological, cytogenetical and functional analyses, as well as for evaluation of influence of different physico-chemical and biological factors on growth and regeneration of corneal epithelium in vitro.