Skip to main content
Journal cover image

Sub-retinal drusenoid deposits in human retina: organization and composition.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Rudolf, M; Malek, G; Messinger, JD; Clark, ME; Wang, L; Curcio, CA
Published in: Exp Eye Res
November 2008

We demonstrate histologically sub-retinal drusenoid debris in three aged human eyes, two of them affected by age-related maculopathy. By postmortem fundus examination, the lesions were drusen-like, i.e., they were pale spots apparently at the level of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). Light and electron microscopy revealed aggregations of membranous debris, the principal constituent of soft drusen, in the sub-retinal space. Immunohistochemistry and confocal microscopy confirmed the presence of molecules typically associated with drusen (positive for unesterified cholesterol, apoE, complement factor H, and vitronectin) without evidence for molecules associated with photoreceptors (lectin-binding disaccharide bridges and opsins), Müller cells (glial fibrillary acid protein and cellular retinal binding protein, CRALPB), or RPE (CRALPB). The fact that a drusenoid material, sharing some markers with conventional drusen, can occur on opposite faces of the RPE, suggests deranged polarity of normally highly vectorial processes for basolateral secretion from RPE, and that overproduction of secreted materials and direction of secretion are independently specified processes. In the future, drusenoid sub-retinal debris might be more frequently revealed by emerging high-resolution imaging techniques.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Exp Eye Res

DOI

EISSN

1096-0007

Publication Date

November 2008

Volume

87

Issue

5

Start / End Page

402 / 408

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Rod Cell Outer Segment
  • Retinal Drusen
  • Pigment Epithelium of Eye
  • Ophthalmology & Optometry
  • Microscopy, Electron
  • Microscopy, Confocal
  • Male
  • Macular Degeneration
  • Macula Lutea
  • Humans
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Rudolf, M., Malek, G., Messinger, J. D., Clark, M. E., Wang, L., & Curcio, C. A. (2008). Sub-retinal drusenoid deposits in human retina: organization and composition. Exp Eye Res, 87(5), 402–408. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exer.2008.07.010
Rudolf, Martin, Goldis Malek, Jeffrey D. Messinger, Mark E. Clark, Lan Wang, and Christine A. Curcio. “Sub-retinal drusenoid deposits in human retina: organization and composition.Exp Eye Res 87, no. 5 (November 2008): 402–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exer.2008.07.010.
Rudolf M, Malek G, Messinger JD, Clark ME, Wang L, Curcio CA. Sub-retinal drusenoid deposits in human retina: organization and composition. Exp Eye Res. 2008 Nov;87(5):402–8.
Rudolf, Martin, et al. “Sub-retinal drusenoid deposits in human retina: organization and composition.Exp Eye Res, vol. 87, no. 5, Nov. 2008, pp. 402–08. Pubmed, doi:10.1016/j.exer.2008.07.010.
Rudolf M, Malek G, Messinger JD, Clark ME, Wang L, Curcio CA. Sub-retinal drusenoid deposits in human retina: organization and composition. Exp Eye Res. 2008 Nov;87(5):402–408.
Journal cover image

Published In

Exp Eye Res

DOI

EISSN

1096-0007

Publication Date

November 2008

Volume

87

Issue

5

Start / End Page

402 / 408

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Rod Cell Outer Segment
  • Retinal Drusen
  • Pigment Epithelium of Eye
  • Ophthalmology & Optometry
  • Microscopy, Electron
  • Microscopy, Confocal
  • Male
  • Macular Degeneration
  • Macula Lutea
  • Humans