Research progress on macrophage-like cells at vitreoretinal interface

Macrophage-like cells (MLCs) are a heterogeneous group of cells with immune functions, mainly including microglia, vitreous cells, and plasma monocytes-macrophages. Under physiological conditions, MLCs participate in maintaining the homeostasis of the retina, and under pathological conditions, they participate in inflammatory lesions of the retina, such as diabetic retinopathy, retinal vein occlusion, and uveitis. In 2020, researcher represented by CASTANOS MV and others firstly used clinical optical coherence tomography (OCT) instruments to visualize MLCs at the vitreoretinal interface, and since then, more and more research teams have applied it to the study of various retinal and choroidal inflammatory diseases. This study elaborated on the general characteristics of MLCs and their research progress in various retinal and choroidal inflammatory diseases.