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Abstract
Corneal fibroblasts grown in tissue culture were induced to produce a collagenase when dexamethasone was included in the culture media. This collagenase, when partially purified, was shown to have an approximate molecular weight of 65,000 and was inhibited by cysteine, Na2EDTA, and freshly prepared rabbit serum. The fibroblast control media, i.e., without dexamethasone, contained no detectable collagenase activity. However, when the control media was concentrated and exposed to trypsin or polymorphonuclear leukocyte lysosomal lysates, it showed collagenase activity. This suggested that the fibroblasts produced a pro-collagenase which was activated by trypsin or lysosomal lysates.