Experimental intraocular lens implantation in the rabbit eye and in the mouse peritoneal space

Abstract

The major cellular components on intraocular lenses experimentally implanted in the rabbit eye and in the mouse peritoneal space were examined. They consisted of macrophages and their metamorphosed epithelioid cells with occasional formations of foreign-body giant cells from the fusion of the macrophage-related cells. Lymphocytes, individually and in clusters, were also seen on the lenses implanted in the mouse peritoneal space but rarely on those implanted in the rabbit eye. Macrophages, epithelioid cells, and giant cells exhibited active phagocytosis on the implanted intraocular lenses. These cells phagocytized not only minor foreign particles such as artificially fed latex or carbon colloids but also living cells including erythrocytes, leukocytes, and lymphocytes. The nuclear pattern of the giant cell formation process initially assumed a centrally located nuclear distribution of a foreign-body giant cell type, and then a peripherally located Langhans type distribution when the number of nuclei reached about five in both the mouse peritoneal space and the rabbit eye chamber. Ultra-large giant cells containing a number of nuclei, however, were only observed on lenses implanted in the rabbit eye, demonstrating a difference between the two environments.