title: A new method for comprehensive bird's-eye analysis of the surgically excised internal limiting membrane.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the role of cells and extracellular matrix on the internal limiting membrane (ILM), we demonstrated a new method for a comprehensive bird's-eye analysis of surgically excised ILM.
  
  
  METHODS
  Laboratory investigation.
  
  
  METHODS
  The ILM of an idiopathic epiretinal membrane was fixed and spread out onto a glass slide, using fine needles under a biomicroscope. The expanded ILM was analyzed by light microscopy, immunohistochemistry, and scanning electron microscopy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The excised ILM could be unfolded and spread out as a flat sheet onto the glass slide. Immunohistochemistry revealed that most migrating cells were glial cells. Scanning electronmicroscopy revealed that the vitreous surface of the ILM was smooth, in contrast to the rough retinal surface. The ILM showed abundant cellular migration as a continuous stratified cellular sheet.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This new bird's-eye-view observation of excised ILM enables us to carry out comprehensive analysis of cellular distribution from a temporal and spatial perspective.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan. hisatomi@med.kyushu-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Toshio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hisatomi
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Enaida
authors.forename: Taiji
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sakamoto
authors.forename: Tadahisa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kagimoto
authors.forename: Akifumi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ueno
authors.forename: Takao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Yasuaki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hata
authors.forename: Tatsuro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ishibashi
mesh_terms: D001485:Basement Membrane / Q000648:ultrastructure; D019773:Epiretinal Membrane / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009885:Ophthalmology / Q000379:methods; D014821:Vitrectomy
chemical_list: D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein