[Application of confocal microscopy in the study of the relationships between astrocytes and blood vessels in the retina].
OBJECTIVE
To study the rabbit retina astrocytes by using immunofluorescence techniques together with the confocal microscopy.


METHODS
The rabbit retinas were processed with an anti-glial fibrillary acidic protein (anti-GFAP) for astrocyte detection and with propidium lobide for nuclear staining.


RESULTS
Confocal microscopy allows for three-dimensional reconstruction of astroglial cells, the performance of double staining procedures with superposition of images corresponding to each chromogen, the exchange of observation axes for each slide and finally the performance of serial optic sections that indicate the exact cell location and their relationship with adjacent structures, eliminating the background signals.


CONCLUSIONS
The confocal microscopy provides detailed information about tridimensional morphology and the location of the astrocytes in the rabbit retina. The astrocytes associated with the nerve fiber bundles are located in the nerve fiber layer. The type III perivascular astrocytes are located between the intravitreous capillaries close to the internal limiting membrane of the retina. The type I perivascular astrocytes are found in the retinal face of the intravitreal capillaries, these being the neurons which are the most distant from the retina.
Ramírez
A I
AI
Instituto de Investigaciones Oftalmológicas Ramón Castroviejo, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, España.
Salazar
J J
JJ
Haddad
A
A
Laicine
E M
EM
Ramírez
J M
JM
Triviño
A
A
D000818:Animals; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000166:cytology*; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D011817:Rabbits; D012171:Retinal Vessels / Q000166:cytology*