B. Juliusson et al., CELLULAR-ORGANIZATION IN RETINAL TRANSPLANTS USING CELL-SUSPENSIONS OR FRAGMENTS OF EMBRYONIC RETINAL TISSUE, Cell transplantation, 2(5), 1993, pp. 411-418
We have investigated the cellular organization in two different types
of retinal transplants using cell type-specific monoclonal antibodies.
Both fragments and cell suspensions of E17-E19 Sprague-Dawley rat ret
ina were transplanted to a subretinal site in congenic adult rat hosts
. After a survival time of 28 days, the transplants were stained by im
munocytochemistry with antibodies against rhodopsin, which stained rod
s; with antibodies against HPC-1, which stained amacrine cells and out
er and inner plexiform layers; and with antibodies against vimentin, w
hich stained Muller cell fibers and horizontal cells. In the host reti
na, the distribution of immunocytochemical staining was similar, irres
pective of transplantation technique. In the transplants, the antirhod
opsin staining showed that fragment transplants developed photorecepto
rs in rosettes, whereas in cell suspension transplants, this staining
showed a scattered distribution of photoreceptors. The HPC-1 staining
showed that regions corresponding to the inner nuclear layer surrounde
d both types of transplants and made large invaginations into them. In
one case, using the cell suspension technique, fibres were found to r
un from the inner plexiform layer of the transplant to the outer plexi
form layer of the host. The vimentin staining revealed a disorganized
array of Muller cell fibres in both types of transplants, but with som
e concentration to the regions corresponding to the inner plexiform la
yer.