Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: A small percentage of retinal reattachment patients experience subsequent detachments of the retina. Here we studied the cellular responses to a similar situation in a feline model for purposes of comparing the retinas after single and multiple detachments followed by reattachments. Methods: The retinas (n=3) with complex detachments were detached for 3 days and reattached for 14 days then detached again for 3 days and reattached for 28 days. These were compared to simple detachments (n=3) in which the retina was detached for 3 days then reattached for 28. Retinal sections were labeled with a panel of 14 antibodies for immunocytochemical analysis. Results: Retinas with complex detachments showed several differences to those with simple detachments including: more outer segment (OS) disruption, rod opsin redistribution, and rod terminal retraction, an increase in regions in which cone OS were missing, an increase in neurite extensions from second order neurons, an increase in labeling of intermediate filaments in Mueller cells, a greater down regulation of soluble Mueller cell proteins, and an increase in reactivity of ganglion cells. Moreover, reattachment (but not detachment alone) induced rod axon extension into the inner retina and epiretinal membrane (ERM) formation and this response was more pronounced in complex detachments. Conclusion: Reattachment stops or slows many of the cellular changes initiated by detachment. However, repair of multiple detachments results in more severe disruption of the retina and an accentuation of changes such as rod axon outgrowth and ERM formation; two events initiated by reattachment. Whether these changes will resolve after a longer reattachment time remains to be determined but they may contribute to the poor visual recovery often reported after repair of complex detachments.
Keywords: 563 retinal detachment • 561 retinal degenerations: cell biology • 434 immunohistochemistry