The Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing is an academic center affiliated with the Division of Toxicological Sciences in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences of the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.

 

Johns Hopkins School of Public Health

Research Grants 2002-2003

In Vitro Irritancy Test Using Telomerase Transfected Human Corneal Cells

James V. Jester, PhD
The University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, Texas

Eye irritation testing is recognized as important in determining the safety of consumer products where manufacture or use may lead to accidental exposure and damage to the eye. Irritancy testing as currently performed, however, requires the use of live animals for which there are no recognized alternative replacement tests. The long-range goal of our work is to first develop and then validate an alternative, replacement test using a human tissue culture model that reconstructs the anterior, exposed portion of the human eye. For the development of a human based tissue culture model we have generated extended-life, telomerase transfected human corneal cells that show growth regulation and differentiation that is similar if not identical to normal human corneal cells. We have also developed a Human Corneal Construct (HCC) using these cells that resembles, in part, normal human corneas. The goal of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of an HCC Test to predict ocular irritation potential of a wide range of irritants from slight to severe. They will also identify a simple biochemical end point that can be used by other laboratories to determine ocular irritation potential on a standard, commercial basis.