Beta-adrenergic and serotonergic responsiveness of rabbit corneal epithelial cells in culture.

Rabbit corneal epithelial cell cultures were established from Dispase-treated anterior corneas. In culture medium containing cholera toxin, insulin and epidermal growth factor, these cells proliferated in vitro in the absence of any contaminating cells. Following subculture, cells retained epithelial morphology and the ability to synthesize cAMP in response to beta-adrenergic stimulation, but lacked the ability to respond to serotonergic stimulation. Retention of the beta-adrenergic system in culture serves as a functional epithelial cell marker; whereas expression of serotonergic responsiveness may be regulated by developmental or extrapithelial systems that are absent in these cell cultures.