The advent of cell culture-based methods for the establishment and expansion of human corneal endothelial cells (CEnC) has provided a source of transplantable corneal endothelium, with a significant potential to challenge the one donor-one recipient paradigm. However, concerns over cell identity remain, and a comprehensive characterization of the cultured CEnC across serial passages has not been performed. To this end, we compared two established CEnC culture methods by assessing the transcriptomic changes that occur during in vitro expansion. In confluent monolayers, low mitogenic culture conditions preserved corneal endothelial cell state identity better than culture in high mitogenic conditions. Expansion by continuous passaging induced replicative cell senescence. Transcriptomic analysis of the senescent phenotype identified a cell senescence signature distinct for CEnC. We identified activation of both classic and new cell signaling pathways that may be targeted to prevent senescence, a significant barrier to realizing the potential clinical utility of in vitro expansion.

Many women experience depressive symptoms after birth, and rates among African Americans are as high as 40 percent. Spirituality and religiosity are valued in African American communities, but their relevance to new mothers has not been empirically tested. We examined effects of religiosity and spirituality on trajectories of depressive symptoms during the year following childbirth. Data were collected by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver NICHD Community and Child Health Network (CCHN) focused on maternal-child health disparities. The sample consisted of 702 low SES African American predominantly Christian women. Participants were interviewed in their homes throughout the year following a birth. Spirituality and religiosity each independently predicted changes in depressive symptoms with low levels predicting increases over time. Effects of religiosity were mediated by a woman's spirituality. Religiosity and spirituality functioned as significant, interrelated protective factors in this study which provides novel insight about lower income African American women following birth.