The phagocytic activity of the pigment epithelium in development and after optic nerve sectioning in the rat

Comparison of Retinal Degeneration in the Normal Goldfish and the Megalophthalmic Black Moor Goldfish after Optic Nerve Transection and Lens Extraction

“…It has been documented that optic nerve sectioning without interrupting the vascular supply to the retina leads to degeneration of retinal cells, even in the lower vertebrates such as the fish and frog (Bastakov & Manteȋfel', 1976;Marani & Ruigrok, 1984;Straznicky, Tay, & Glastonbury, 1980;Yew, Hui, Lau, & Wong, 1985;Yew & Li, 1986). In the adult goldfish, sectioning of the optic nerve has led to the degeneration of cells not only in the ganglion cell layer but also, to some extent, in the inner nuclear layer (INL), and finally the outer nuclear layer (ONL) after a lengthy period of time (Yew & Li, 1986).…”

“…It has also been documented that the cones in the ONL and the related cone bipolars in the INL were the hardest hit (Yew & Li, 1986). As a result, the intact cells in pigment epithelium in the retina displayed a decrease in phagocytic activity in goldfish and rat (Li, Hui, Tsang, & Yew, 1987;Yew et al, 1985). These cellular changes in the retina have been evident not only in the lower vertebrates but also in the higher vertebrates as well, for example in adult rats and rabbits (Steele, van Hof, van der Steen, & Collewijn, 1987;Tsang, Yew, & Lam, 1985).…”