Macrophages have long been known to play a major role in the pathogenesis of proliferative vitreoretinal disorders. Using the monoclonal antibodies EBM11 (pan macrophage), 27E10 (early inflammatory stage marker), and RM3/1 (healing phase marker), different subpopulations of macrophages were differentiated in surgically removed membranes from patients with macular pucker (n = 6), proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) following rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (n = 11), traumatic PVR (n = 19), and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) (n = 11). Macrophages were predominantly found in traumatic PVR and PDR. Some healing phase (RM3/1) macrophages were detected in all disease entities. Inflammatory stage macrophages (positive staining for 27E10) could not be detected in PVR following rhegmatogenous retinal detachment and idiopathic macular pucker. In traumatic PVR inflammatory stage macrophages were associated with a short history of disease whereas in PDR all types of macrophages could be detected regardless of clinical history and duration of the disease.
