Glial cells in culture of preretinal membrane of proliferative vitreoretinopathy.

Nine preretinal membranes surgically obtained from seven patients with proliferative vitreoretinopathy were cultured in Eagle's minimal essential medium or RPMI 1640 medium, both with addition of 10% fetal bovine serum, in order to assess the proliferative capacity of the cells in the membrane. In addition, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP, protein specific for glial cells) was stained in the cultured cells, by the immunoperoxidase method (peroxidase-antiperoxidase technique). Cellular outgrowth consisted of five types of cells; 1) spindle-shaped cells, 2) flat round or polyhedral cells, 3) semilunar cells, 4) stellate cells and 5) polygonal cells in close contact with each other and extending in monolayer. The spindle-shaped cells, the flat round or polyhedral cells, and the semilunar cells were dominant in all cases, and they showed vigorous proliferation and migration. Many of these cells were GFAP-positive, indicating their glial origin. The stellate cells were GFAP-positive, but they were few in number. The polygonal cells were near the explants and were GFAP-negative; they were thought to be derived from the retinal pigment epithelial cells. It was confirmed that the glial cells are the major cellular component of the proliferative preretinal membrane, and that they show vigorous proliferative capacity. It may be concluded that the glial cells play the major role in the formation of the preretinal membrane in proliferative vitreoretinopathy.