{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,12]],"date-time":"2026-07-12T04:12:37Z","timestamp":1783829557356,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,3]],"date-time":"2024-04-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1712102400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"German Research Foundation","award":["PA738\/15-1 (FP)"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PA738\/15-1 (FP)"]}]},{"name":"Ernst und Berta Grimmke Stiftung 6\/21 (Regeneration-TD-Azini) (J.D.)","award":["PA738\/15-1 (FP)"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PA738\/15-1 (FP)"]}]},{"name":"Sicca Forschungsf\u00f6rderung 2023 of the Professional Association of German Ophthalmologists (DOG) (S.G.)","award":["PA738\/15-1 (FP)"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PA738\/15-1 (FP)"]}]},{"name":"\u201cSonderfond f\u00fcr wissenschaftliches Arbeiten an der Universit\u00e4t\u201d (P.A.)","award":["PA738\/15-1 (FP)"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PA738\/15-1 (FP)"]}]},{"name":"IZKF ELAN P075 (P.A.)","award":["PA738\/15-1 (FP)"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PA738\/15-1 (FP)"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Cells"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The lacrimal gland is crucial for maintaining ocular health by producing the aqueous component of the tear film, which hydrates and nourishes the ocular surface. Decreased production of this component results in dry eye disease, a condition affecting over 250 million people worldwide. However, the scarcity of primary human material for studying its underlying mechanisms and the absence of a cell model for human lacrimal gland epithelial cells present significant challenges. Here, we describe the generation of immortalized human lacrimal gland cell lines through the introduction of an SV40 antigen. We successfully isolated and characterized three cell clones from a female lacrimal gland donor, confirming their epithelial identity through genomic and protein analyses, including PCR, RNAseq, immunofluorescence and cultivation in a 3D spheroid model. Our findings represent a significant advancement, providing improved accessibility to investigate the molecular pathogenesis mechanisms of dry eye disease and potential therapeutic interventions. We identified the expression of typical epithelial cell marker genes and demonstrated the cells\u2019 capability to form 2D cell sheets and 3D spheroids. This establishment of immortalized human lacrimal gland cells with epithelial characteristics holds promise for future comprehensive studies, contributing to a deeper understanding of dry eye disease and its cellular mechanisms.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/cells13070622","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,4]],"date-time":"2024-04-04T00:42:26Z","timestamp":1712191346000},"page":"622","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["A New Immortalized Human Lacrimal Gland Cell Line"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-3206-5077","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sophie","family":"Gleixner","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Functional and Clinical Anatomy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universit\u00e4t Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6477-4940","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ingrid","family":"Zahn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Functional and Clinical Anatomy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universit\u00e4t Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jana","family":"Dietrich","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Functional and Clinical Anatomy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universit\u00e4t Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7420-9438","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Swati","family":"Singh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Functional and Clinical Anatomy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universit\u00e4t Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany"},{"name":"Hariram Motumal Nasta & Renu Hariram Nasta Ophthalmic Plastic Surgery Services, LV Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad 500034, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7957-4565","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alice","family":"Drobny","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Neurology, University Hospital Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander Universit\u00e4t Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yanni","family":"Schneider","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Neurology, University Hospital Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander Universit\u00e4t Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-3600-253X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Raphael","family":"Schwendner","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine 1, University Hospital Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universit\u00e4t Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6239-3749","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Eileen","family":"Socher","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Functional and Clinical Anatomy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universit\u00e4t Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2199-9119","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nicolas","family":"Blavet","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CEITEC-Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lars","family":"Br\u00e4uer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Functional and Clinical Anatomy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universit\u00e4t Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9448-1882","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Antoniu-Oreste","family":"Gostian","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Merciful Brothers Hospital St. Elisabeth, 94315 Straubing, Germany"},{"name":"Department of Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery, Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen, University Hospital Erlangen, 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Matthias","family":"Balk","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery, Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen, University Hospital Erlangen, 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9807-9532","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gundula","family":"Schulze-Tanzil","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Paracelsus Medical University, Nuremberg Prof. Ernst Nathan Str. 1, 90419 Nuremberg, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Claudia","family":"G\u00fcnther","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine 1, University Hospital Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universit\u00e4t Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany"},{"name":"Deutsches Zentrum Immuntherapie (DZI), University Hospital Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universit\u00e4t Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0527-0953","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Friedrich","family":"Paulsen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Functional and Clinical Anatomy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universit\u00e4t Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3273-9865","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Philipp","family":"Arnold","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Functional and Clinical Anatomy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universit\u00e4t Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"802","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jtos.2017.08.003","article-title":"TFOS DEWS II Report Executive 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