Growth characteristics of human lens epithelial cells in culture. Effect of media and donor age.

The effect of different concentrations of fetal calf serum (FCS) on the proliferative capacity of human and bovine lens epithelial cells in culture was evaluated. The effect of donor age on the maximum number of passages achieved using thirty eight individual cultures was also studied. The donor ages ranged from 1-88 years. Fifteen percent FCS was found to be the optimum concentration for both human and bovine cells. The two cell types demonstrated very similar responses across the spectrum of concentrations used. Correlation analysis revealed a significant (p < 0.05) negative correlation between donor age and maximum number of cell passages achieved.