Retinal dystrophy in the RCS rat: in vivo and in vitro studies of phagocytic action of the pigment epithelium on the shed rod outer segments

M Tamai, PJ O'Brien - Experimental Eye Research, 1979 - Elsevier
The ability of the pigment epithelium (PE) of dystrophic and control RCS rats to phagocytize
rod outer segment (ROS) material was examined in vivo and in vitro. In the in vivo studies of
animals with fully developed ROS, the number of phagosomes found in the PE increased
between 1 and 2 hr after the onset of light in both groups, although at all times the dystrophic
animals demonstrated substantially smaller numbers than the controls. During the postnatal
development of ROS, the number of phagosomes found at the daily peak increased steadily …