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Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, Vol 31, 664-669, Copyright © 1990 by Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology

ARTICLES AND REPORTS

Desmosomal-mitochondrial complexes in human nonpigmented ciliary and retinal pigment epithelia

U Schlotzer-Schrehardt, HG Muller, PM Wirtz and GO Naumann
Department of Ophthalmology, University of Erlangen-Nurnberg, Federal Republic of Germany.

In the normal human nonpigmented ciliary epithelium structural associations between mitochondria and desmosomes are described electron- microscopically: either a single desmosome or a linear array of several desmosomes joined by filamentous bundles is associated with one or two mitochondria (19.6 +/- 5.4%; n = 29). The frequency of occurrence of these complexes was studied in five different regions of the ciliary body; analysis of covariance revealed a significantly increased number of associations in the ciliary processes. Further, the age dependence of their occurrence was examined in 29 different age classes (15 to 86 years); correlation analysis revealed no correlation between age and number of associations. Similar complexes occur, in addition, in the retinal pigment epithelium, but have not been observed in ciliary pigmented, lens, iris and corneal epithelia. Desmosomal-mitochondrial complexes are considered to be a characteristic feature of basic physiological significance of certain epithelia only. The cytochemical demonstration of calcium in the associated mitochondria provides support for the hypothesis that the mitochondria may serve as buffers for intracellular calcium by controlling the local calcium concentration, thus increasing the stability and functional integrity of desmosomal junctions in secretory or actively transporting epithelia with high endogenous calcium levels.




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Copyright © 1990 by the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology