The postnatal proliferative activity of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells and its dependence on intraocular pressure were studied using [3H]thymidine and [14C]thymidine autoradiography in normal and experimentally induced microphthalmic pigmented rats. The regulation of RPE growth by intraocular pressure was shown to involve the control of the number of binucleated cells by means of stimulation of cell entry into the S phase of the cell cycle. Binucleated cells in the rat RPE are formed by acy to kinetic mitoses between days 2 and 9. The significance of the postnatal proliferation and formation of binucleated cells in the RPE is discussed in terms of the specificity of the G2 phase for melanotropic hormone action on RPE differentiation.
Sodium iodate iv. damages the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) in rabbits. Where RPE does not regenerate (e.g., 1,2) Muller glial cells (MC) forma subretinal scar that replaces RPE. The MC response was studied by HVEM in 3D computer reconstructions of serial thick sections, made using the STEREC0N program (3), and the HVEM at the NYS Dept. of Health in Albany, NY. Tissue was processed for HVEM or immunofluorescence localization of a monoclonal antibody recognizing MG microvilli (4).
Re: Wang et al.: Acute peripapillary retinal pigment epithelium changes associated with acute intraocular pressure elevation (Ophthalmology 2015,122:2022-8)