title: Proliferation of the ciliary epithelium with retinal neuronal and photoreceptor cell differentiation in human eyes with retinal detachment and proliferative vitreoretinopathy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is some in vitro evidence that the adult ciliary body might harbor an inactive population of stem/retinal progenitor cells (RPC), or that ciliary epithelial (CE) cells might have the capacity to trans-differentiate, which may result in a balance between neural and epithelial properties. We have reported alterations in the ciliary body (CB) and adjacent vitreous in vivo by endoscopic evaluation of human eyes with a history of retinal detachment (RD) and anterior proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR).
  
  
  METHODS
  The present study examined with light microscopy three paraffin-embedded phthisic human eyes with RD and anterior PVR. One normal eye, exenterated for an orbital tumor, served as the control. All specimens were stained with hematoxilin and eosin safran (HES), and serial sections were immunostained with antibodies against EGFR, Ki67, CD133, NSE, rhodopsin, and GFAP.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We observed: (1) an intense proliferation and displacement of clusters of CE cells into the vitreous base in a "neurosphere-like" fashion; (2) differentiation of CE cells towards early and late neuronal [photoreceptor (PR)] lineages; and (3) strong staining of EGF and EGFR in the CE. Such proliferation, migration, and differentiation were not present in the CE of the control eye. GFAP staining was intensely positive in the three detached retinae, and was negative in the CE of eyes with RD, as well as in the retina of the control eye.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our observations suggest that EGFR-positive CE cells in the adult human eye in vivo with RD and PVR form "neurosphere-like" structures; their differentiation seems to be directed towards the neural and photoreceptor lineage, and not towards glial formation. In the adult human eye, the CE in a pathological retinal environment such as RD might provide a spontaneous source of donor cells for retinal transplantation.
authors.affiliation: Service d'Anatomie et Cytologie Pathologiques, Hôpital G et R Laennec, CHU de Nantes, France. yvette.ducournauguillaubey@chu-nantes.fr
authors.forename: Yvette
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ducournau
authors.forename: Claude
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Boscher
authors.forename: Ron A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Adelman
authors.forename: Colette
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Guillaubey
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schmidt-Morand
authors.forename: Jean-François
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Mosnier
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ducournau
mesh_terms: D000071916:AC133 Antigen; D000328:Adult; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002465:Cell Movement; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002924:Ciliary Body / Q000473:pathology*; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016612:Paraffin Embedding; D010455:Peptides / Q000378:metabolism; D010751:Phosphopyruvate Hydratase / Q000378:metabolism; D020419:Photoreceptor Cells, Vertebrate / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D010857:Pigment Epithelium of Eye / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D012163:Retinal Detachment / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D055351:Retinal Neurons / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D012243:Rhodopsin / Q000378:metabolism; D018630:Vitreoretinopathy, Proliferative / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D000071916:AC133 Antigen; D015703:Antigens, CD; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein; D006023:Glycoproteins; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; C000606023:PROM1 protein, human; D010455:Peptides; D012243:Rhodopsin; C512478:EGFR protein, human; D066246:ErbB Receptors; D010751:Phosphopyruvate Hydratase