Lymphatic drainage from the eye: A new target for therapy.
Lowering intraocular pressure (IOP) has been central to glaucoma care for over a century. In order to prevent sight loss from disease, there has been considerable focus on medical and surgical methods to improve fluid drainage from the eye. In spite of this, our understanding of exactly how aqueous humor leaves the eye is not complete. Recently, lymphatic vessels have been discovered in the human uvea, with studies showing lymphatic fluid outflow in several models, in addition to evidence for their pharmacological enhancement. The presence of a lymphatic outflow system points to an exciting, expanded understanding of how fluid and particulate materials such as proteins move out of the eye, and how IOP may be regulated. We coin the term "uveolymphatic pathway"-to reflect a comprehensive and compelling new target for glaucoma and an exciting opportunity for future investigations to better understand the eye in health and disease.
Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada; Ophthalmic Pathology Laboratory, University of Toronto, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada; Faculty of Engineering & Architectural Science, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON, Canada. Electronic address: yucely@smh.ca.
Yeni
Y
Yucel
Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada; Glaucoma and Nerve Protection Unit, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Neeru
N
Gupta
D001082:Aqueous Humor / Q000502:physiology*; D004322:Drainage / Q000379:methods*; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007429:Intraocular Pressure / Q000502:physiology*
Aqueous humor; Conventional outflow; Drainage; Eye; Glaucoma; Intraocular pressure; Lymphatic outflow; Trabecular meshwork; Uveolymphatic pathway; Uveoscleral outflow