[Diseases of the vitreoretinal interface : What role does the vitreous body play?].

Once viewed as an inert transparent medium with no pathophysiological importance, the vitreous body is now recognized as a dynamic, cell-regulated compartment with structural, mechanical, biological and immunological functions closely interacting with the retina. Hyalocytes, structural and cellular changes of the vitreous body and the vitreoretinal interface are central to many retinal diseases. Hyalocytes regulate the extracellular matrix and immune response and in cases of dysregulation promote proliferative processes. Structural phenomena, such as vitreoschisis and vitreous cortex remnants act as scaffolds for fibrocellular proliferation. Advances in optical coherence tomography (OCT) now enable a precise in vivo visualization of these mechanisms. This review article summarizes the current knowledge on the structure, cell biology and pathophysiology of the vitreous body, focusing on disorders such as vitreomacular traction (VMT), macular holes, epiretinal gliosis, proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). A better understanding of these mechanisms opens up new diagnostic and treatment approaches.