Response of pig retinal pigment epithelium to laser photocoagulation in organ culture
L. V. Del Priore, B. M. Glaser, H. A. Quigley and W. R. Green
Center for Vitreoretinal Research, Wilmer Ophthalmological Institute, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD 21205.
Laser photocoagulation was applied in vitro to organ culture exoplants of
porcine retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) attached to Bruch's membrane.
Four-millimeter-round buttons of eye wall containing RPE, choroid, and
sclera were treated with 25 spots from the argon blue-green laser using 300
mW of power, a 500-micron spot size, and 0.1-s duration. Laser
photocoagulation disrupts individual RPE cells acutely and lifts damaged
RPE cells from Bruch's membrane. Treated areas become covered with
irregular mounds of RPE cells within seven days. The acute damage and
subsequent repair of the RPE in organ culture mimic the response of the RPE
following laser photocoagulation in vivo. Thus, the morphologic response of
the RPE to laser photocoagulation is an intrinsic property of this tissue
that does not depend on the presence of the overlying retina.
