Monkey Trabecular Meshwork Cells in Culture: Growth, Morphologic, and Biochemical Characteristics

We established tissue cultures of trabecular meshwork cells from cynomolgus monkey eyes. The cultures were initiated within 4 h of enucleation on Falcon Primaria flasks. Using medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum and 5% calf serum, trabecular meshwork cells could be grown for up to eight passages without additional growth factors. The growth pattern and cell morphology were distinct from those seen in fibroblastic or endothelial cultures derived from neighboring tissues. Ultrastructurally, our cells showed the characteristics of trabecular meshwork cells, exhibiting prominent basement membranes, intercellular junctions, pinocytotic vesicles, microvillous projections, and branched cell extensions. These cells were grown mostly as monolayers. However, they also appeared to form multi-layered arrays in densely confluent areas when plated at a high density. The extracellular matrix material was surrounded by cells and cell processes, simulating in vivo trabecular beam formation. Radiolabeling experiments demonstrated that our trabecular meshwork cells had the capacity to produce collagen. These results indicated that our cultured cells retain many in vivo characteristics and may be used for various biologic studies of trabecular meshwork.