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Environmental scanning electron microscopic study of macrophages associated with the tunica vasculosa lentis in the
J Djano1, B Griffin, I van Bruggen
1Department of Anatomy and Human Biology, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands Perth, 6907, Western Australia.
Aims:
To demonstrate the value of environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) when used in combination with immunogold/silver enhancement methods as a valuable tool in ocular research, and to determine the phenotype of macrophages associated with the tunica vasculosa lentis while maintaining a topographical view of the lens surface.
Methods:
Prenatal and postnatal rat eyes were investigated by conventional scanning electron microscopy and ESEM. In the latter case tissues were prestained with a panel of antileucocyte monoclonal antibodies and visualised with colloidal gold conjugated secondary antibody followed by silver enhancement.
Results:
The preliminary data demonstrate that ED1(+) ED2(+) macrophages occur in large numbers around the lens and are associated with sectors of both normal vessels and those undergoing regression.
Conclusion:
The present study demonstrates that ESEM is an ideal way to combine scanning electron microscopy with immunohistochemistry and is therefore likely to have multiple other applications in ocular research.
