Retinal pigment epithelium: ring mitochondria and lesions induced by continuous light

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Abstract
EM of avian retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) reveal a basal zone of abundant mitochondria, .apprx. 15% of which present ring-shaped profiles. These ring profiles may represent cross sections of donut-shaped bodies, randomly deployed in the RPE mitochondrial zone. The percent of all RPE mitochondria which are in the ring form increases with age, and is further increased in chicks reared under continuous light, an environmental condition leading also to light-induced avian glaucoma (LIAG). A given mitochondrion, on assuming the ring form, would more than double its surface area. The RPE mitochondria of chicks developing LIAG may present to the surrounding cytoplasm a total surface area more than 4-fold greater than in normal chicks.