An experimental model of proliferative vitreoretinopathy was developed in the rabbit eye by injecting a solution of human platelet-rich plasma. In this model we evaluated the progression with time of intraocular inflammation and the rate and origin of cell proliferation. A sterile solution adjusted to 107 platelets was injected into the right eye of a total of 46 pigmented and 14 albino rabbits. Animals were sequentially sacrificed at days 7, 14, 21 and 1 month after injection. Clinical evaluation of vitreoretinal proliferation, using a classification in six grades, and of anterior segment inflammation assessed by a Laser Flare Meter, were done for 1 month after injection, before histopathological analysis. Eighty percent of eyes developed tractional retinal detachment in 1 month. Histopathology showed intense cell migration and proliferation in the area of the ciliary body, as early as the seventh day, then further increasing rapidly. Infiltrates were composed of cytokeratin- and vimentin-expressing cells. Abnormal expression of vimentin was also found in ciliary and retinal epithelia and in Müller cells. Inflammation measured by the Laser Flare Meter was maximal at day 11 and then reached a plateau at significantly higher levels than controls. Albino rabbits showed significantly lower grades of proliferation, as compared to pigmented rabbits. This study thus clarified some characteristics of exper- imental vitreoretinal proliferations that proved similar to those in human diseases, such as the involvement of ciliary body and retinal pigment epithelium, the existence of inflammatory reactions preceding cell proliferation and strong changes in intermediate filaments. This may provide a simple and valuable model for antiproliferative assays and shed some light on the pathogenesis of intraocular proliferative disorders.

Keywords:
Proliferative vitreoretinopathy, Retinal detachment, Platelets, Preretinal neovascularization, Experimental model, Pigment epithelial cells, Müller cells, Laser flare meter
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1998
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