Retinal pigment epithelium: pattern of proliferative activity and its regulation by intraocular pressure in postnatal rats.

The postnatal proliferative activity of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells and its dependence on intraocular pressure were studied using [3H]thymidine and [14C]thymidine autoradiography in normal and experimentally induced microphthalmic pigmented rats. The regulation of RPE growth by intraocular pressure was shown to involve the control of the number of binucleated cells by means of stimulation of cell entry into the S phase of the cell cycle. Binucleated cells in the rat RPE are formed by acytokinetic mitoses between days 2 and 9. The significance of the postnatal proliferation and formation of binucleated cells in the RPE is discussed in terms of the specificity of the G2 phase for melanotropic hormone action on RPE differentiation.