ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of three agents known to react with cytoskeletal components--acrylamide (a vinyl monomer), demecolcine (a colchicine derivative) and stypoldione (an ichthyotoxic metabolite derived from the tropical marine alga Stypopodium zonale)--on facility of aqueous humour outflow in order to increase the understanding of the role of the cytoskeleton in the biology of aqueous outflow. DESIGN: Constant-pressure perfusion experiments with various concentrations of the agents using a porcine ocular anterior segment preparation. NUMBERS: Eighteen experimental eyes (six with each agent) and 18 control eyes. MEAN OUTCOME MEASURES: Aqueous outflow facility, determined after 1, 2 and 24 hours of perfusion. RESULTS: The mean baseline outflow facility was 0.10 (standard error of the mean 0.045) microL/min per mm Hg. There was no significant difference in mean baseline outflow facility between the experimental and control eyes. Perfusion of 0.01 to 1.0 mM demecolcine did not produce any consistent alteration in outflow facility. A mild to moderate dose-related experimental effect was noted after 2 hours of perfusion with 1.0 to 100 mM acrylamide. Perfusion with 0.10 mM stypoldione produced a moderate increase in outflow facility; the effect was greatest after 1 hour of perfusion. CONCLUSIONS: Our preliminary results do not support a central role for the cytoskeleton in the regulation of aqueous outflow resistance.
