Activation of Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase by Cholinergic Agonists and EGF in Human Compared with Rat Cultured Conjunctival Goblet Cells

Abstract

In human and rat cultured conjunctival goblet cells, cholinergic agonists and EGF activate MAPK with a similar time dependency, this activation is receptor mediated, and cholinergic agonists transactivate the EGF receptor. Thus, rat cultured conjunctival goblet cells can be used as a model to study human conjunctival goblet cells.