title: Contractile markers distinguish structures of the mouse aqueous drainage tract.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Structures of the aqueous humor drainage tract are contractile, although the tract is not entirely composed of muscle. We characterized the mouse aqueous drainage tract by immunolabeling contractile markers and determined whether profiling these markers within the tract distinguished its key structures of the trabecular meshwork (TM) and ciliary muscle (CM).
  
  
  METHODS
  Enucleated eyes from pigmented C57BL/6 (n=8 mice) and albino BALB/c (n=6 mice) mice were processed for cryo- and formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded sectioning. Immunofluorescence labeling was performed for the following: (a) filamentous actin (using fluorescence-conjugated phalloidin), representing a global contractile marker; (b) α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), caldesmon, and calponin, representing classic smooth muscle epitopes; and (c) nonmuscle myosin heavy chain, representing a nonmuscle contractile protein. Tissue labeling was identified by confocal microscopy and analyzed quantitatively. Hematoxylin and eosin staining provided structural orientation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A small portion of the TM faced the anterior chamber; the rest extended posteriorly alongside Schlemm's canal (SC) within the inner sclera. Within the drainage tract, filamentous actin labeling was positive in TM and CM. α-SMA and caldesmon labeling was seen primarily along the CM, which extended from the anterior chamber angle to its posterior termination beyond the SC near the retina. Low intensity, patchy α-SMA and caldesmon labeling was seen in the TM. Myosin heavy chain immunoreactivity was primarily found in the TM and calponin was primarily observed in the CM. C57BL/6 and BALB/c comparison showed that pigment obscured fluorescence in the ciliary body.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our strategy of profiling contractile markers distinguished mouse aqueous drainage tract structures that were otherwise indistinguishable by hematoxylin and eosin staining. The mouse TM was seen as an intervening structure between SC, a part of the conventional drainage tract, and CM, a part of the unconventional drainage tract. Our findings provide important insights into the structural and functional organization of the mouse aqueous drainage tract and a basis for exploring the role of contractility in modulating aqueous outflow.
authors.affiliation: Doheny Eye Institute and Department of Ophthalmology, Keck School of Medicine University of Southern California, Los Angeles CA.
authors.forename: MinHee K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.affiliation: Doheny Eye Institute and Department of Ophthalmology, Keck School of Medicine University of Southern California, Los Angeles CA.
authors.forename: James C H
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Tan
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001082:Aqueous Humor / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D002148:Calmodulin-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D002924:Ciliary Body / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004801:Eosine Yellowish-(YS); D006416:Hematoxylin; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008840:Microfilament Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D018995:Myosin Heavy Chains / Q000378:metabolism; D012590:Sclera / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014129:Trabecular Meshwork / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D000096985:Calponins
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D015415:Biomarkers; D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins; D002148:Calmodulin-Binding Proteins; D004801:Eosine Yellowish-(YS); D006416:Hematoxylin; D008840:Microfilament Proteins; D018995:Myosin Heavy Chains; D000096985:Calponins; C544013:alpha-smooth muscle actin, mouse