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The characterisation of hyalocytes: the origin, phenotype, and turnover

H Qiao¹, T Hisatomi¹, K-H Sonoda¹, S Kura², Y Sassa¹, S Kinoshita³, T Nakamura³, T Sakamoto⁴ and T Ishibashi¹

¹ Department of Ophthalmology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
² Department of Medical Biophysics and Radiation Biology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
³ Department of Ophthalmology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan
⁴ Department of Ophthalmology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Japan

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Koh-Hei Sonoda MD PhD
Department of Ophthalmology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan; sonodak{at}med.kyushu-u.ac.jp

Aim: To determine the characterisation of hyalocytes: the origin, phenotype, and turnover in the rodent.

Methods: To characterise the ultrastructure and distribution of hyalocytes, transmission and scanning electron microscopy was performed in rat eyes. Immunophenotypical analysis was performed by either anti-ED1 or ED2 antibodies. To examine the origin of the hyalocytes, the chimeric mice were created and were used to transplant the bone marrow (BM) cells from enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) transgenic mice. The turnover of hyalocytes was examined at 0, 4, 6, 7, and 12 months after BM transplantation.

Results: Hyalocytes were distributed especially in the vitreous cortex and had an irregular shape with a spherical granule. Immunophenotypical studies demonstrated that most of the hyalocytes in rat eyes expressed ED2 but not ED1. In the chimeric mice, the hyalocytes were GFP negative right after BM transplantation. Interestingly, more than 60% of hyalocytes were replaced within 4 months and approximately 90% within 7 months after BM transplantation.

Conclusions: The rodent hyalocytes were shown to express tissue macrophage marker, were derived from BM, and totally replaced within 7 months. These data provide the characterisation of hyalocytes in physiological conditions, especially their origin, distribution, and turnover, and may contribute to the better understanding of the pathogenesis of vitreoretinal disease.

Abbreviations: BM, bone marrow; EGFP, enhanced green fluorescent protein; FACS, flow cytometry analysis; GFAP, glial fibrillary acidic protein; ILM, inner limiting membrane; PBS, phosphate buffered saline; PI, propidium iodide; SEM, scanning electron microscopy; TEM, transmission electron microscopy

Keywords: hyalocyte; enhanced green fluorescent protein; bone marrow cells; transplantation; chimeric mice

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