Organ culture of human retinal pigment epithelium and choroid: a model for the study of cytologic behavior of RPE in vitro.

Organ culture of human choroid and retinal pigment epithelium was maintained in medium RPMI 1640 with Millipore filter as support for various periods up to six weeks. The tissues were obtained from autopsy and surgical materials. The cultures were studied by light and electron microscopy. The tissues maintained by this culture method appeared to be in a relatively normal active state, without overt degeneration or proliferation for at least two weeks. The RPE in culture showed capability of phagocytosing particles of thorotrast. Such a culture system serves as a useful model for study of the cytologic behavior of human retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) in vitro, especially during the early stages of disease processes.