Isolation and Characterization of a Canine Corneal Epithelial Cell Population

Ludwig, Allison

Isolation and Characterization of a Canine Corneal Epithelial Cell Population

File

LudwigAllisonI.pdf (1.17 MB)

Date

2014-04-15

Authors

Ludwig, Allison

Organizational Units

Organizational Unit

Veterinary Clinical Sciences

The mission of the Veterinary Clinical Sciences Department and the Veterinary Medical Center is to be strong academically, to provide outstanding services, and to conduct research in the multiple areas of Veterinary Clinical Sciences. Our goals are to teach students in the multiple disciplines of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, to provide excellent veterinary services to clients, and to generate and disseminate new knowledge in the areas of Veterinary Clinical Sciences. Our objectives are to provide a curriculum in the various aspects of Veterinary Clinical Sciences which ensures students acquire the skills and knowledge to be successful in their chosen careers. We also strive to maintain a caseload of sufficient size and diversity which insures a broad clinical experience for students, residents, and faculty. In addition, we aim to provide clinical veterinary services of the highest standards to animal owners and to referring veterinarians. And finally, we strive to provide an environment and opportunities which foster and encourage the generation and dissemination of new knowledge in many of the disciplines of Veterinary Clinical Sciences.

Series

Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression

Iowa State University Conferences and Symposia

The Symposium provides undergraduates from all academic disciplines with an opportunity to share their research with the university community and other guests through conference-style oral presentations. The Symposium represents part of a larger effort of Iowa State University to enhance, support, and celebrate undergraduate research activity.

Though coordinated by the University Honors Program, all undergraduate students are eligible and encouraged to participate in the Symposium. Undergraduates conducting research but not yet ready to present their work are encouraged to attend the Symposium to learn about the presentation process and students not currently involved in research are encouraged to attend the Symposium to learn about the broad range of undergraduate research activities that are taking place at ISU.

The first Symposium was held in April 2007. The 39 students who presented research and their mentors collectively represented all of ISU's Colleges: Agriculture and Life Sciences, Business, Design, Engineering, Human Sciences, Liberal Arts and Sciences, Veterinary Medicine, and the Graduate College. The event has grown to regularly include more than 100 students presenting on topics that span the broad range of disciplines studied at ISU.

Department

Veterinary Clinical Sciences

Abstract

The use of corneal epithelial cells (CECs) for evaluation of the effect of different treatment modalities on corneal healing is an important technique that reduces the need for experiments in live animals. The isolation and culture of corneal epithelial cells is often a difficult process due to the structure of the cornea and the proliferative nature of corneal keratocytes. This project was focused on the isolation, culture, and characterization of a population of canine CECs as a first step toward use in future studies of the effects of treatment on the healing of CECs defects. In this study, we isolated a population of cells from canine corneas, grew the cells in culture for several passages, and evaluated the cells for morphological characteristics of CECs. Immunostaining for cytokeratin and vimentin was conducted to verify the epithelial nature of the isolated cells, and data regarding the percentage of CECs present in each population was recorded. Our future studies will be aimed at evaluation of different medical treatments on the proliferation of isolated CECs and healing of canine corneal defects.