Ultrastructural study of basal lamina of retinal pigment epithelium.
The ultrastructure of basal lamina (BL) of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) in guinea pigs was studied by the quick-freezing, deep-etching (QF-DE) method. The retinal tissue was quickly frozen, fractured and deeply etched. A replica was prepared by shadowing with platinum and carbon. Electron micrographs of the BL of RPE provide a three-dimensional (3-D) ultrastructure. The lamina lucida was filled with traversing filamentous structures, which connected the basal infolding of RPE with the lamina densa. The lamina densa consisted of a 3-D meshwork structure. It is suggested that the traversing filamentous structures in the lamina lucida might play a role in anchoring the basal infolding of RPE and in maintaining the normal architecture.
Department of Ophthalmology, Yamanashi Medical University, Japan.
B
B
Ou
S
S
Ohno
S
S
Yamabayashi
H B
HB
Chen
Y
Y
Fujii
S
S
Tsukahara
D000818:Animals; D001485:Basement Membrane / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D015925:Cryopreservation; D005613:Freeze Etching; D005614:Freeze Fracturing; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D010857:Pigment Epithelium of Eye / Q000648:ultrastructure*