Survival and regeneration of adult human photoreceptors in vitro.

Adult human retina from enucleated ocular tissue was enzymatically dissociated and plated into plastic dishes for cell culture in serum-supplemented medium. Within a few days following seeding, islands of glial-like cells with rounded neurons growing on top of them were visible. Immunocytochemical labelling of these cultures revealed that virtually all the surviving neurons (> 98%) were rod photoreceptors, and that they extended long neurites across the glial cell surface. Hence, adult human photoreceptors retain a remarkable capacity for survival and regrowth, and such preparations may be of value for physiopathological and retinal grafting studies.