@article {1364541, title = {Telomerase immortalization of human corneal endothelial cells yields functional hexagonal monolayers}, journal = {PLoS One}, volume = {7}, number = {12}, year = {2012}, month = {2012}, pages = {e51427}, abstract = {Human corneal endothelial cells (HCEnCs) form a monolayer of hexagonal cells whose main function is to maintain corneal clarity by regulating corneal hydration. HCEnCs are derived from neural crest and are arrested in the post-mitotic state. Thus cell loss due to aging or corneal endothelial disorders leads to corneal edema and blindness-the leading indication for corneal transplantation. Here we show the existence of morphologically distinct subpopulations of HCEnCs that are interspersed among primary cells and exhibit enhanced self-renewal competence and lack of phenotypic signs of cellular senescence. Colonies of these uniform and hexagonal HCEnCs (HCEnC-21) were selectively isolated and demonstrated high proliferative potential that was dependent on endogenous upregulation of telomerase and cyclin D/CDK4. Further transduction of HCEnC-21 with telomerase yielded a highly proliferative corneal endothelial cell line (HCEnT-21T) that was devoid of oncogenic transformation and retained critical corneal endothelial cell characteristics and functionality. This study will significantly impact the fields of corneal cell biology and regenerative medicine.}, keywords = {Biomarkers, Cell Differentiation, Cell Line, Cell Proliferation, Cell Shape, Cellular Senescence, Cyclin D, Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 4, Endothelium, Corneal, Humans, Ion Pumps, Ion Transport, Telomerase, Transduction, Genetic, Tumor Suppressor Protein p53}, issn = {1932-6203}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0051427}, author = {Schmedt, Thore and Chen, Yuming and Nguyen, Tracy T and Li, Shimin and Bonanno, Joseph A and Jurkunas, Ula V} }