Patch transplants of human fetal retinal pigment epithelium in rabbit and monkey retina.

PURPOSE

To transplant human fetal retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) into the subretinal space of rabbits and monkeys as an organized monolayer without artificial support.

METHODS

The method involves dissecting small patches of cultured RPE monolayers in sheets (1 to 5 mm2), sucking them into a glass pipette and injecting them into the subretinal space after producing a bleb detachment of the neural retina.

RESULTS

These patches unfold and survive as a quasi-monolayer under the reattached neural retina intimately associated with the host photoreceptors and phagocytizing host outer segment material. Graft rejection is observed in most rabbits at 1 month but not in monkeys at 3 months after transplantation.

CONCLUSIONS

Monolayer patches of cultured human fetal RPE can be transplanted to the subretinal space, where they survive in contiguity with healthy host outer segments. In primates, but not in rabbits, host-graft rejection does not occur for at least 2 to 3 months.