脊椎动物视网膜色素上皮顶端和基侧极性的形成

Vertebrate retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is a highly specialized epithelium with polarized membrane domains，with microvilli and junctional complexes on the apical pole and infoldings along the basolateral side, which express a morphological and functional polarity along their apical-to-basal axis. The loss of RPE polarity is associated with many degenerative eye diseases. Here, we highlight the polarized distribution of membrane protein and melanosome, TJs development, IPM and αPKC’s role and the alteration of RPE polarity in regeneration. Although RPE polarity has been studied a lot, which is at infant stage for treating degenerative eye diseases. So many morphological events and regulated mechanism still need to be elucidated in greater details from histological to molecular level, from development to adult, from nomal to mutation.