The structure of the developing chick retinal pigment epithelium revealed by high resolution scanning electron microscopy.

The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) in the developing eye of chick embryos has been studied during the early stages of development by high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM). Specimen preparation techniques which involve removal of the cytoplasmic matrix permitted visualization of organelles and other subcellular structures within RPE cells in detail and in three dimensional (3-D) stereo HRSEM. Using this technique, we were able to examine changes in melanosome structures during development and demonstrate that pigmentation in the RPE was present by day 4 of development. RPE plasma cell membranes showed extensive folding of the apical portion of the membrane closest to the developing neural retina by day 9. Examination of RPE photoreceptor junction revealed photoreceptor inner segments by day 6 and an outer segment by day 9. Mitochondria in the RPE were found to contain tubular cristae only. The ultra-structure in 3-D of the Golgi apparatus, smooth and rough endoplasmic reticulum, lysosomes and nuclear chromatin of the RPE, and Bruch's layer was revealed by the HRSEM method.