Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC), with progenitor cell and immunological properties, have been cultivated from numerous vascularized tissues including bone marrow, adipose tissue and the corneal-limbus of the eye. After observing mesenchymal cells as contaminants in primary cultures of vascular endothelial cells derived from the choroidal tunic of the human eye, we investigated whether the choroid might also provide a source of cultured MSC. Moreover, we examined the effect of the choroidal stromal cells (Ch-SC) on the proliferation of freshly isolated choroidal vascular endothelial cells (ChVEC) in vitro. The phenotype of cultures established from five choroidal tissue donors was examined by flow cytometry and immunocytochemistry. The potential for mesenchymal cell differentiation was examined in parallel with MSC established from human bone marrow. Additional cultures were growth-arrested by treatment with mitomycin-C, before being tested as a potential feeder layer for ChVEC. The five unique cultures established from choroidal stroma displayed a phenotype consistent with the accepted definition for MSC (CD34⁻, CD45⁻, HLA-DR^-, CD73⁺, CD90⁺, and CD105⁺), including the capacity for mesenchymal differentiation when cultivated under osteogenic, adipogenic and chondrogenic conditions. Growth-arrested Ch-SC inhibited the proliferation of ChVEC derived from five separate donors. Cultures of Ch-SC secreted approximately 40-fold higher concentrations of the anti-angiogenic factor pigment epithelium derived factor (PEDF/serpin F1) compared to the pro-angiogenic factor, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), regardless of normal or growth-arrested state. Our results provide first evidence of a resident MSC cell type within the choroid and encourage investigation of new mechanisms for altering the growth of ChVEC.

具有祖细胞和免疫学特性的间充质基质细胞（MSC）已从包括骨髓，脂肪组织和眼角膜-眼角膜在内的众多血管化组织中培养出来。在观察人眼脉络膜外膜的血管内皮细胞原代培养物中的间充质细胞为污染物后，我们研究了脉络膜是否也可能提供了培养的MSC的来源。此外，我们检查了脉络膜基质细胞（Ch-SC）对新鲜分离的脉络膜血管内皮细胞（ChVEC）体外增殖的影响。通过流式细胞仪和免疫细胞化学检查了由五个脉络膜组织供体建立的培养物的表型。与人骨髓建立的MSC平行检查了间充质细胞分化的潜力。通过测试丝裂霉素-C抑制其他培养物的生长，然后再测试其为ChVEC的潜在饲养层。从脉络膜基质建立五个独特的文化展示与MSC（CD34的公认的定义是一致的表型^-，CD45 ^-，HLA-DR ^-，CD73 ⁺，CD90 ⁺和CD105 ⁺），包括在成骨，成脂和成软骨条件下培养时的间充质分化能力。抑制生长的Ch-SC抑制了来自五个独立供体的ChVEC的增殖。与正常的血管生成因子，血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）相比，Ch-SC的培养液分泌的抗血管生成因子色素上皮衍生因子（PEDF / serpin F1）的浓度大约高40倍，被捕状态。我们的结果提供了脉络膜内常驻MSC细胞类型的第一个证据，并鼓励研究改变ChVEC生长的新机制。