Detection of extracellular matrix molecules synthesized in vitro by monkey and human retinal pigment epithelium: influence of donor age and multiple passages.

The retinal pigment epithelium of various species, including man, can synthesize extracellular matrix components in vitro. We studied extracellular matrix molecule production by human, rhesus and cynomolgus monkey pigment epithelium in vitro, using a panel of specific antibodies to collagen types I-V, fibronectin, laminin, the basement membrane heparan sulfate proteoglycan, human alpha elastin, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and Factor VIII in a modified indirect immunofluorescence reaction. Results were similar between human and both monkey species in early passage cultures with respect to the positive detection of collagen types I, III, IV, V laminin, basement membrane proteoglycan, and fibronectin. The fluorescence was strongest in the center of confluent monolayers and was absent in border or isolated cells. Collagen type II, elastin, GFAP, or Factor VIII were not detected. Based on these findings, human and monkey pigment epithelium in vitro should be useful for the study of the synthesis, deposition and supramolecular interactions of a variety of extracellular matrix molecules.