Apoptosis in human retinal degenerations.
OBJECTIVE
This paper examined the role of apoptosis in human retinal degenerations including pathologic myopia, age-related macular degeneration, serous retinal detachment, retinal lattice, and paving stone degenerations.


METHODS
Thirty-seven enucleated human eyes with 1 of the above-mentioned retinal degenerations were studied by histopathology and by TdT-mediated biotin-dUTP nicked-end labelling (TUNEL) technique.


RESULTS
Tunnel labelling characteristic DNA fragmentation of apoptosis was observed in photoreceptor cells in 2 of the 4 eyes with pathologic myopia and in 4 of 16 eyes with age-related macular degeneration, 2 of which were exudative and 2 of which were atrophic. However, only a few scattered photoreceptor cells were labelled in 4 of 8 eyes with serous retinal detachment secondary to malignant melanoma of the choroid. Moreover, none of the photoreceptors cells in the 4 eyes with retinal lattice degeneration and 6 eyes with retinal paving stone degeneration were labelled.


CONCLUSIONS
Apoptosis is 1 of the important pathways of photoreceptor cell degeneration in pathologic myopia and age-related macular degeneration.
Xu
G Z
GZ
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Li
W W
WW
Tso
M O
MO
D000368:Aged; D017209:Apoptosis; D016923:Cell Death; D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis; D053938:DNA Fragmentation; D004253:DNA Nucleotidylexotransferase; D003856:Deoxyuracil Nucleotides; D006801:Humans; D009216:Myopia / Q000150:complications; D010786:Photoreceptor Cells / Q000473:pathology*; D012162:Retinal Degeneration / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*; D012163:Retinal Detachment / Q000175:diagnosis
D003856:Deoxyuracil Nucleotides; C027078:deoxyuridine triphosphate; D004247:DNA; D004253:DNA Nucleotidylexotransferase