Abstract
Purpose :
This study aims to investigate fibrotic changes and cell outgrowth in proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) membranes from complex PVR cases.
Methods :
PVR membranes were surgically obtained from five patients diagnosed with recurrent PVR-induced retinal detachment, who had previously undergone pars plana vitrectomy with intraocular silicone oil tamponade. Live cell imaging and immunocytochemistry (ICC) were utilized to observe these membranes and the cells outgrowing in culture.
Results :
Cell outgrowth was observed in three cultured membranes. These membranes contained pigmented cells with large lipid droplets inside the cytoplasm. Outgrowing cells exhibited a distinctive fibrotic elongated morphology. Silicone oil was inadvertently transferred to the medium, during cell culture preparation. Live cell imaging revealed that outgrowing cells phagocytose oil droplets in vitro. The accumulation of lipid droplets within the cytoplasm caused the cells to stop proliferating. ICC analysis revealed that these cells were positive for RPE65. In addition, F-actin staining showed a typical fibrotic remodeling with a parallel rearrangement pattern, which was interrupted by the presence of lipid droplets. Furthermore, in many cases, the nuclei of oil-phagocytizing cells were repositioned towards the cell periphery due to lipid droplet accumulation (Fig. 1).
Conclusions :
Proliferating fibrotic retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells within the vitreous cavity have been suggested to induce PVR. Silicone oil is a widely employed tamponade for the treatment of PVR-induced retinal detachment. It offers benefits like high surface tension and viscosity, as well as a lasting tamponade. We show that silicone oil might prevent PVR progression by inhibiting the proliferation of oil-phagocytosing RPE cells. This highlights the clinical advantage of silicone oil tamponade in complex PVR-induced retinal detachment.
This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.