Hostname: page-component-77f85d65b8-v2srd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-03-27T00:00:25.601Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The role of the retinal pigment epithelium in eye growth regulation and myopia: A review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 August 2005

JODI RYMER
Affiliation:
School of Optometry, University of California—Berkeley, Berkeley
CHRISTINE F. WILDSOET
Affiliation:
School of Optometry, University of California—Berkeley, Berkeley

Abstract

Myopia is increasing in prevalence world-wide, nearing epidemic proportions in some populations. This has led to expanded research efforts to understand how ocular growth and refractive errors are regulated. Eye growth is sensitive to visual experience, and is altered by both form deprivation and optical defocus. In these cases, the primary targets of growth regulation are the choroidal and scleral layers of the eye that demarcate the boundary of the posterior vitreous chamber. Of significance to this review are observations of local growth modulation that imply that the neural retina itself must be the source of growth-regulating signals. Thus the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), interposed between the retina and the choroid, is likely to play a critical role in relaying retinal growth signals to the choroid and sclera. This review describes the ion transporters and signal receptors found in the chick RPE and their possible roles in visually driven changes in eye growth. We focus on the effects of four signaling molecules, otherwise implicated in eye growth changes (dopamine, acetylcholine, vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), and glucagon), on RPE physiology, including fluid transport. A model for RPE-mediated growth regulation is proposed.

Information

Type
Research Article
Copyright
2005 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable