SURVIVAL AND REGENERATION OF ADULT HUMAN PHOTORECEPTORS IN-VITRO

Adult human retina from enucleated ocular tissue was enzymatically dis sociated and plated into plastic dishes for cell culture in serum-supp lemented medium. Within a few days following seeding, islands of glial -like cells with rounded neurons growing on top of them were visible. Immunocytochemical labelling of these cultures revealed that virtually all the surviving neurons (> 98%) were rod photoreceptors, and that t hey extended long neurites across the glial cell surface. Hence, adult human photoreceptors retain a remarkable capacity for survival and re growth, and such preparations may be of value for physiopathological a nd retinal grafting studies.