Regional distribution of lysosomal enzymes in the canine retinal pigment epithelium.

We have investigated the activities of four lysosomal enzymes in RPE cells isolated from three regions of the canine fundus: the tapetal area, the central pigmented area and the peripheral area. The results obtained with freshly isolated cells showed that the activities of acid phosphatase, B-glucuronidase and N-acetyl-B-glucosaminidase were significantly higher in RPE cells derived from the peripheral region when compared to those from the two central regions. In contrast, the activity of cathepsin D was significantly higher in the tapetal region than in the periphery. The regional distribution of both acid phosphatase and B-glucuronidase observed in fresh RPE cells was progressively lost when these cells were grown in culture. Estimations of photoreceptor density per RPE cell from each of the regions indicated that the number of photoreceptors per RPE cell did not vary significantly with retinal location and suggested that variations in enzyme content were not related to differences in photoreceptor cell distribution.