Objctive To explore the relationship between the expression of Fas/FasL and the apoptosis occurs in retinal ischemia/reperfusion injury of rats , as well as the therapeutic effects of bFGF on the ischemic retina.Methods Th emodels of retinal ischemia/reperfusion injury was made by transient elevating introcular pressure. A total of 28 rats were divided into normal and operation group.The latter were subdivided into 1 hour, 6, 12, 24, 48 and 72 hours after reperfusion group, in which the left eyes of the rats were in the ischemia/reper fusion groups and the right ones were in the treatment groups (bFGF intracameral injection). Apoptosis was assessed by the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick-end labelling (TUNEL) method, and the expression of Fas and Fas ligand was studied by strept avidin-biotin complex （SABC）immunohistochemistry. Results No positive cells were observed in the normal rats′retinae, but there was a significant number of TUNEL positive cells in 6-24 hours after transient ischemia followed by a decrease at the 48th hour. The number of TUNEL positive cells reached a maximum at the 24th hour after ischemia. The expression of Fas gradually increased as early as when it was at the 6th hour, reached a peak at the 24th hour, and then decreased at the 48th hour. Similarly, the expression of Fas ligand was at peak in 24-48 hours in GCL and INL of retina. Conclusions Retinal ischemia-reperfusion after transient elevated IOP induced apoptosis of cells in the retina. Fas/FasL may play an important role in the early events of the apoptotic pathways. bFGF can rescue RGCs from retinal ischemia/reperfusion injury through downregulation of the expression of Fas/FasL and may represent an important mechanism for therapeutic neuroprotection. (Chin J Ocul Fundus Dis，2003，19：160-163)
ObjectiveTo investigate relationship between ultrastructural changes and expression of basic fibroblast growth factor of diabetic retinopathy in rats.MethodsDiabetes was induced in rats with a single injection of streptozotocin (STZ) and divided into normal control group and 1- , 3- and 5- month diabetes group. The paraffin slide was observed by in-situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry, and retinal ultrastructure was examined by transmission electron microscopy.ResultsNo change of retinal ultrastructure was found in the control group. Different degrees of ultrastructure lesion were found in 1-month diabetic rats with fragmental increase of thickness of basement membrane, swelling of endothelial cells and obvions fingerlike processes in the capillary cavity, disconcentration of heterochromatin both in endothelium and pericyte, and swelling and degeneration of mitochondrion. The edema of endothelial cells of 3-month diabetic rats was more serious than that of 1month ones, and the capillary cavity was nearly occluded. In 5-month diabetic rats, the basement membrane was unevenly thickened, or obviously split. The positive rate of in-situ hybridization in 3-month diabetic rats was 77.8% while the positive rate of immunohistochemical stain was 55.6%, which increased to 88.9% in 5-month diabetic rats.ConclusionsThe occurrence of the ultrastructural changes in STZ rats with diabetic retinopathy is earlier than that of the expression of bFGF.(Chin J Ocul Fundus Dis, 2003,19:348-351)