Retinal wound healing. Cellular activity at the vitreoretinal interface
B. Miller, H. Miller, R. Patterson and S. J. Ryan
Cellular activity at the vitreoretinal interface after full-thickness
retinal wounds was studied in rabbit eyes, using light and electron
microscopy. Glial cell extensions grew initially on the retinal surface
around the wound site. This brief period of glial proliferation was
associated with the posttraumatic inflammatory response and, more
specifically, with phagocytic monocyte accumulation at the vitreoretinal
interface. Once the inflammation subsided, this abortive attempt to grow
membranes on the retinal surface stopped and true epiretinal membranes did
not develop. Our observations suggest that intraocular inflammation and
macrophage response determine the extent of healing and scarring on an
injured retinal surface, and thus may play a key role in the pathogenesis
of epiretinal membranes.
