Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, is an essential physiological process that plays a critical role in development and tissue homeostasis. The prog

Apoptosis is a physiological cell death process that plays a critical role in development, homeostasis, and immune defense of multicellular animals.

Lidocaine has been reported to induce apoptosis on rabbit corneal endothelial cells. However, the apoptotic effect and exact mechanism involved in cytotoxicity of lidocaine are not well‐established in human corneal endothelial (HCE) cells. In this study, we investigated the apoptosis‐inducing effect of lidocaine on HCE cells in vitro. After HCE cells were treated with lidocaine at concentrations of 0.15625–10.0 g/l, the morphology and ultrastructure of the cells were observed by inverted light microscope and transmission electron microscope (TEM). Cell viability was measured by MTT assay, and the apoptotic ratio was evaluated with flow cytometry and fluorescent microscopic counting after FITC–Annexin V/PI and AO/EB staining. DNA fragmentation was detected by electrophoresis, and the activation of caspases was evaluated by ELISA. In addition, changes in mitochondrial membrane potential were determined by JC‐1 staining. Results suggest that lidocaine above 1.25 g/l reduced cellular viability and triggered apoptosis in HCE cells in a time‐ and dose‐dependent manner. Diminishment of ΔΨm and the activation of caspases indicate that lidocaine‐induced apoptosis was caspase dependent and may be related to mitochondrial pathway.