Profile of the genes expressed in the human peripheral retina, macula, and retinal pigment epithelium determined through serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE).
A normal retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) from an 88-year-old female. Patient had periocular malignancies that required exenteration of a normal eye as part of the clinically indicated surgical therapy. The eye was placed in saline after it was removed from the patient and the RPE from the posterior pole and the periphery was harvested by gentle scraping with a Pasteur pipette. Fragments of RPE were collected by aspiration in sterile 0.9% saline. Tissue fragments were collected and frozen within 45 minutes of the surgical removal to ensure minimal degradation of mRNA molecules. The RPE fragments were from the posterior pole and the periphery.
