Autoradiographic studies of aged primate macular retinal pigment epithelium.
The authors used 35S-sulfate and 3H-proline to trace labeled molecules in autoradiograms of aged monkey and human macular retina to detect the synthesis of extracellular matrix ( ECM) components by retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. Quantitative analysis of silver grains 6 hr and 3 d after intravitreal injection of 35S-sulfate in the monkey showed that secretion from the basal pole of the RPE occurs at a slower rate than from the apical pole. In vitro incubation of human maculas produced poor autoradiographs with 35S-sulfate. Good autoradiographs were obtained using 3H-proline. Human macular RPE showed uneven labeling, but densely labeled cells did not correlate with sites of basal linear deposits, ECM though to be basement membrane material, and a hallmark of age-related maculopathy. The time course of labeling in adult primate tissue showed a fairly high turnover rate for these molecules. Scant labeling of ECM at drusen sites and no labeling in basal linear deposits suggested that either (1) these structures have a slow turnover or (2) their components contain scant sulfate and proline. Alternatively, faulty degradative processes rather than enhanced synthesis may account for the accumulation of abnormal ECM at the RPE-Bruch's membrane interface in aged maculas.[1]References
- Autoradiographic studies of aged primate macular retinal pigment epithelium. Hirata, A., Feeney-Burns, L. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. (1992) [Pubmed]
Annotations and hyperlinks in this abstract are from individual authors of WikiGenes or automatically generated by the WikiGenes Data Mining Engine. The abstract is from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.About WikiGenesOpen Access LicencePrivacy PolicyTerms of Useapsburg