{
  "abstract": "Purpose Cell therapy based on the primary culture of human corneal endothelial cells (CECs) represents the future for addressing the shortage of corneal grafts. In this study, we aim to answer a fundamental question: Is there a link between culture success and corneal characteristics, particularly the age of the donor?Methods All corneas were derived from organ culture. Three groups of cultures were distinguished according to donor age: older group (77 ± 11 years (50 to 99)), intermediate group (38 ± 4 years (34 to 47)), and young group (12 ± 11 years (1 to 29)). The number of cultures/corneas included in each group was 285, 12, and 13, respectively. Culture success was defined as CECs exhibiting typical CEC morphology with an ECD greater than 2000 cells/mm² starting from the 3rd cell passage. In the older donor group, we also investigated whether there was a link between culture success and the following factors: post-mortem delay, initial ECD, OC duration, and the different types of culture failures.Results The success rates were 5.6%, 25%, and 69% in the older, intermediate, and young groups, respectively. Within the older donor group, we identified that a higher initial ECD and a shorter OC duration contributed to the success of primary CEC culture. Post-mortem delay did not appear to affect the success rate, as all corneas included in this study had a post-mortem delay of ≤25 hours. Senescent cells, which were larger in size, and mesenchymal cells (MC) resulting from endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndoMT) were the main causes of failure, accounting for 77% and 55% of cases, respectively. These two types of cells could coexist in the same culture as a mixture.Conclusion Donor age is a key factor for the success of CEC culture: the younger the donor, the higher the success rate. In the group of donors over 50 years old, we also identified two characteristics that contribute to success: a shorter OC duration and a higher initial ECD. Senescence and EndoMT are the two main causes of culture failure.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Laboratory of Biology, Engineering and Imaging for Ophthalmology (BiiO), Faculty of Medicine, Jean Monnet University, Saint Etienne, France"
      ],
      "name": "Inès Aouimeur"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Laboratory of Biology, Engineering and Imaging for Ophthalmology (BiiO), Faculty of Medicine, Jean Monnet University, Saint Etienne, France"
      ],
      "name": "Zhiguo He"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Laboratory of Biology, Engineering and Imaging for Ophthalmology (BiiO), Faculty of Medicine, Jean Monnet University, Saint Etienne, France"
      ],
      "name": "Chantal Perrache"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Laboratory of Biology, Engineering and Imaging for Ophthalmology (BiiO), Faculty of Medicine, Jean Monnet University, Saint Etienne, France"
      ],
      "name": "Tomy Sagnial"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), CEA, CNRS, University Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette cedex, France"
      ],
      "name": "Jean-Yves Thuret"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Laboratory of Biology, Engineering and Imaging for Ophthalmology (BiiO), Faculty of Medicine, Jean Monnet University, Saint Etienne, France",
        "Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital of Saint Etienne, Saint-Etienne, France"
      ],
      "name": "Phillipe Gain"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Laboratory of Biology, Engineering and Imaging for Ophthalmology (BiiO), Faculty of Medicine, Jean Monnet University, Saint Etienne, France",
        "Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital of Saint Etienne, Saint-Etienne, France"
      ],
      "name": "Gilles Thuret"
    }
  ],
  "title": "3.1. Identification of corneal characteristics influencing the success of primary human corneal endothelial cell culture",
  "uid": "26b51e1c-aa8c-5b24-841a-93151e1052ea"
}