The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), a monolayer of post-mitotic polarized epithelial cells, strategically situated between the photoreceptors and the choroid, is the primary caretaker of photoreceptor health and function. Dysfunction of the RPE underlies many inherited and acquired diseases that cause permanent blindness. Decades of research have yielded valuable insight into the cell biology of the RPE. In recent years, new technologies such as live-cell imaging have resulted in major advancement in our understanding of areas such as the daily phagocytosis and clearance of photoreceptor outer segment tips, autophagy, endolysosome function, and the metabolic interplay between the RPE and photoreceptors. In this review, we aim to integrate these studies with an emphasis on appropriate models and techniques to investigate RPE cell biology and metabolism, and discuss how RPE cell biology informs our understanding of retinal disease.

视网膜色素上皮 (RPE) 是有丝分裂后极化上皮细胞的单层，战略性地位于光感受器和脉络膜之间，是光感受器健康和功能的主要守护者。RPE 功能障碍是许多导致永久性失明的遗传性和后天性疾病的根源。数十年的研究对 RPE 的细胞生物学产生了宝贵的见解。近年来，活细胞成像等新技术使我们对光感受器外节尖端的日常吞噬和清除、自噬、内溶酶体功能以及 RPE 和光感受器之间的代谢相互作用等领域的理解取得了重大进展。在这篇综述中，我们的目标是将这些研究整合起来，重点是研究 RPE 细胞生物学和代谢的适当模型和技术，并讨论 RPE 细胞生物学如何帮助我们理解视网膜疾病。