Permeability of the neonatal rat choriocapillaris to hemeproteins and ferritin.

The permeability of the endothelium of the capillaries of the rat choriocapillaris to circulating macromolecules was examined during the first post-natal week of development using hemeproteins of different molecular dimensions and ferritin. At this stage of development capillaries and photoreceptor cells in the neural retina are not fully formed, but the choriocapillaris has an adult-like morphology. Thus, through these differences in neural and vascular architectures the possible functional relationships between the retina and choriocapillaris can be explored. High levels of horseradish peroxidase [Einstein-Stokes radius (ESR) 3 nm] activity were localized in Bruch's membrane within 2 minutes after intravenous tracer injection. In contrast, scant levels of hemoglobin (ESR, 3.2 nm) and no catalase (ESR, 5.2 nm) activity were observed here at 75 and 90 minutes, respectively. Only a few ferritin particles (ESR, 6.1 nm) crossed the choriocapillary endothelium after a 90-minute circulation. The results demonstrate that in the neonatal rat the choriocapillaris has the same restrictive properties as have been described for the adult eye (Pino and Essner, 1980, 1981), even in the absence of retinal capillaries and functional photoreceptor cells.