INVITRO DIFFERENTIATION OF CELLS OF LENS EPITHELIUM OF HUMAN FETUS

Cells dissociated from fetal human lens epithelium of approximately 9 and 15 weeks after conception were cultured as monolayers in vitro. About 25 days after inoculation, a number of transparent piles of highly swollen cells appeared on the epithelial cell sheet. Ultra-structurally, these piles are assemblages of elongated cells with typical profiles of mature lens fibers. Gamma-crystallin which is undetectable in the lens epithelium is immunologically detected in late stage cultures containing these piles. Thus, it is concluded that cells of the human fetal lens epithelium can differentiate into lens fibers in monolayer culture. © 1978.