Endothelin 1 levels in the aqueous humor of dogs with glaucoma.
OBJECTIVE
Endothelin 1 is a small peptide that is involved in regulation of intraocular pressure and modulation of ocular circulation. To investigate the role of endothelin 1 in canine glaucoma, the authors measured aqueous humor levels of endothelin 1 in healthy dogs and in dogs with hypertensive glaucoma.


METHODS
Aqueous humor samples were obtained with general anesthesia from the eyes of healthy dogs (n = 5) and dogs with hypertensive glaucoma (n = 10). Measurements were made by enzyme immunoassay for endothelin 1.


RESULTS
The endothelin 1 aqueous humor range was 1.12 - 3.63 pg/mL for healthy dogs and 1.97 - 14.97 pg/mL for glaucomatous dogs. The healthy and glaucomatous canine endothelin 1 aqueous levels (mean +/- SD) were 2.33 +/- 0.90 and 8.11 +/- 5.03 pg/mL, respectively. A two-way analysis of variance indicated that this difference was significant (P = 0.0084). The effect of age on endothelin 1 levels was not significant (P = 0.6283). The large variability found within the glaucomatous group could be explained by the degree of damage of the retina (P = 0.0006). There was no significant correlation between intraocular pressure and endothelin 1 aqueous humor levels within the glaucomatous group (P = 0.29).


CONCLUSIONS
The aqueous humor of dogs with hypertensive glaucoma contains significantly higher levels of endothelin 1 than that of healthy dogs.
Källberg
Maria E
ME
Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
Brooks
Dennis E
DE
Garcia-Sanchez
Gustavo A
GA
Komàromy
Andras M
AM
Szabo
Nancy J
NJ
Tian
Lili
L
D000818:Animals; D001082:Aqueous Humor / Q000378:metabolism*; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000378:metabolism*; D004285:Dogs; D019332:Endothelin-1 / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000662:veterinary*; D007429:Intraocular Pressure; D008297:Male; D014065:Tonometry, Ocular / Q000662:veterinary
D019332:Endothelin-1