Immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy of cyclitic membrane. Report of a case.

An immunohistochemical study using various antibodies directed against antigens of inflammatory cells, neurons, and Müller cells, interstitial collagens (types I and III), basement membrane collagens (types IV and V), and basement membrane glycoproteins (laminin and fibronectin) was performed to characterize the components of two cyclitic membranes (in an enucleated eye and a surgical specimen) from a 15-year-old patient with an eight-year history of chronic bilateral uveitis. When specimens were obtained, no inflammation was seen clinically. Correlative light and electron microscopic examinations were also performed on one specimen. The preponderant cells in the cyclitic membrane were glial cells. The preponderant extracellular tissue within the cyclitic membrane consisted of basement membrane components. These observations suggest that cyclitic membranes could be formed mainly by the extension of proliferative glial elements from the retina, with a minor component derived from fibroblasts.