Dresden 2006 – scientific programme
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AKB: Biologische Physik
AKB 23: Photo-Biophysics
AKB 23.1: Talk
Thursday, March 30, 2006, 16:15–16:30, ZEU 255
Living Optical Fibers in the Vertebrate Retina — •Jochen Guck1, Kristian Franze1, Stefan Schinkinger1, Jens Grosche2, Ortrud Uckermann2, Kort Travis1, Detlev Schild3, and Andreas Reichenbach2 — 1Insitute for Soft Matter Physics, Universität Leipzig — 2Paul-Flechsig Institute for Brain Research, Universität Leipzig — 3Department of Neurophysiology and Cellular Biophysics, Universität Göttingen
The retina of the vertebrate eye is inverted with respect to optical function. Light must pass through a significant thickness of scattering tissue before reaching the light-sensitive photoreceptor cells. We have investigated the retina as a phase object and could show that the retina contains optical fibers that guide light from the vitreous body through the scattering layers to the photoreceptor cells. These optical fibers are identified as Müller cells, which are radial glial cells spanning the entire thickness of the retina. For this we measured the transmission and scattering properties of Müller cells both in their natural matrix, applying confocal microscopy to eye-cup preparations and retinal whole-mounts, and as isolated cells, using a modified dual-beam laser trap. This finding ascribes a new function to glial cells and presents the inverted retina as an optical fiber phase-plate.