title: Tractional force generation by porcine Müller cells: stimulation by growth factors in human vitreous.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the levels of Müller cell contraction-stimulating activity in human vitreous, correlate these levels with clinical presentation, and identify, the causative growth factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Human vitreous was collected from patients undergoing pars plana vitrectomy (n = 84). Müller cells were isolated from porcine retina and maintained in tissue culture. Tractional forces generated by cells incubated on three-dimensional collagen gels were measured as changes in gel thickness. Contraction-stimulating activity in vitreous (VA) was calculated from the close-response profiles of gel contraction to vitreous protein. The contributions of individual growth factors to vitreous activity (n = 10) were assessed by inhibition with specific neutralizing antibodies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean VA of patients with retinal detachment (3.65) and proliferative vitreoretinopathy stages A, B, and C (2.06) were elevated above that of patients without retinal pathology (vitreous activity = 0.23) or retinal defects alone (0.57). Mean activities in patients with epimacular proliferation (1.22) and vitreous hemorrhage (1.40) were also significantly elevated. The percentage of this activity attributable to insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) varied from 9.2% to 84.5% with a mean of 61.3%. Similarly, the percent contribution of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) ranged from 6.8% to 49.0% with a mean of 26.5%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The vitreous of patients with retinal detachment, proliferative retinal disease, and vitreous hemorrhage contain varying amounts of growth factors that stimulate tractional force generation by Müller cells. The majority of the activity can be attributed to IGF-1 and a smaller proportion to PDGF.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Eye Foundation Hospital, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 35294, USA.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hardwick
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Feist
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Morris
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Witherspoon
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Angus
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Guidry
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000502:physiology*; D010982:Platelet-Derived Growth Factor / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D012160:Retina / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D012163:Retinal Detachment / Q000601:surgery; D013552:Swine; D014821:Vitrectomy; D018630:Vitreoretinopathy, Proliferative / Q000601:surgery; D014822:Vitreous Body / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D014823:Vitreous Hemorrhage / Q000601:surgery
chemical_list: D010982:Platelet-Derived Growth Factor; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I