{
  "abstract": "Corneal epithelial defects are a major cause of vision loss, highlighting the need for reliable in vitro models to study ocular surface pathophysiology and for therapeutic development. In this study, we establish a simplified and reproducible protocol for culturing the human corneal epithelial cell line IM-HCEpiC under standardized culture conditions, avoiding coated flasks and proprietary media of unknown composition. We compared proliferation rates across different seeding densities and culture media formulations, identifying DMEM/F12 supplemented with fetal bovine serum as the optimal compositionally defined medium, while collagen coating does not significantly improve growth. Under these conditions, IM-HCEpiC cells expressed corneal epithelial markers (CK3, CK12, ZO-1, E-cadherin, and Pax-6) and displayed the expected response to oxidative stress and antioxidant treatment, supporting the preservation of key epithelial characteristics. Using this optimized culture system, extracellular vesicles (EVs) were isolated from IM-HCEpiC secretomes, characterized, and functionally evaluated. IM-HCEpiC-derived EVs promote corneal wound closure and increased Ki67 expression. Therefore, this study establishes a simplified, cost-effective, and reproducible culture protocol for IM-HCEpiC cells while preserving key corneal epithelial characteristics, supporting their use in corneal epithelial biology and EV-based research.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Ocular Surface Group, Instituto Universitario de Oftalmobiología Aplicada (IOBA), Universidad de Valladolid",
    "Nanotechnological Solutions for Ocular Functional Recovery Group, Instituto Universitario de Oftalmobiología Aplicada (IOBA), Universidad de Valladolid",
    "Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina (CIBER-BBN), Instituto de Salud Carlos III"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 5,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Sara Galindo"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Estefanía González-Martín"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Helen Gutiérrez"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Yolanda Diebold"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Laura García-Posadas"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/493c39at95r81.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1038/s41598-026-61839-2",
  "fulltext_url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-61839-2",
  "id": "493c39at95r81",
  "issns": [
    "2045-2322"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-61839-2",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "lcc",
      "Q"
    ],
    [
      "lcc",
      "R"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2741|Corneal Surgery and Treatments"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7171725692",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-61839-2_reference.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-07-01",
  "publisher": "Nature Portfolio",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/493c39at95r81.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-01T14:21:19Z",
      "native_id": "0292d8777bbf43f8a8d7a546682f34ae",
      "source": "doaj",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-61839-2"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2741|Corneal Surgery and Treatments",
      "subfield": "imaging"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Optimization of culture conditions for the human corneal epithelial cell line IM-HCEpiC and evaluation of its extracellular vesicles in repair",
  "title_text": "Optimization of culture conditions for the human corneal epithelial cell line IM-HCEpiC and evaluation of its extracellular vesicles in repair",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-03T14:20:46Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/493c39at95r81",
  "venue": "Scientific Reports",
  "versions": []
}