Figure 3. Proliferation and viability of conjunctival epithelial cell sheets. 5-bromo-2´-deoxyuridine (BrdU) staining was performed to detected cell proliferation in the cell sheets, and the nuclei were stained with 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole dihydrochloride (DAPI: blue). A: The results show that the BrdU-positive cells (green) indicate the presence of the proliferative cells. The proliferation of the cells in conjunctival epithelial cell sheets was measured with a CCK-8 kit. B: The results show that rabbit conjunctival epithelial cells (rCjECs) proliferated well and the number of rCjECs increased with culture time, indicating that the cells in the cell sheets maintain proliferative cell properties. C: Live and dead staining in the conjunctival epithelial cell sheets. The results show that few dead cells can be seen. Scale bars: 100 μm in A, 50 μm in C.