title: Glial Endothelin-1 Regulates Retinal Blood Flow During Hyperoxia in Cats.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the role of endothelin-1 (ET-1) in retinal glial cells in regulating retinal blood flow (RBF) during hyperoxia in cats.
  
  
  METHODS
  We measured the vessel diameter (D), blood velocity (V), and blood flow (F) simultaneously in first-order retinal arterioles using a laser Doppler velocimetry system. The animals were under general anesthesia during hyperoxia (100% oxygen) for 10 minutes 24 hours after intravitreal injection of L-2-aminoadipic acid (LAA), a gliotoxic compound, or diluted hydrochloric acid (0.01 N) used as the vehicle control. We also measured the changes in the RBF after intravitreal injection of BQ-123, a specific ET type A receptor antagonist, in LAA-treated eyes. To examine if endothelin-converting enzyme-1 (ECE-1), as an ET-1-generating enzyme located in retinal glial cells, immunohistochemical examinations with costaining of antiglial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) antibody and anti-ECE-1 antibody were performed in whole-mount retinas.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During hyperoxia, the decreases in D, V, and F in response to hyperoxia were attenuated significantly (P < 0.01 for all comparisons) in the LAA-treated eyes compared with the vehicle control (LAA, D, -8.5 ± 1.5%; V, -13.8 ± 1.5%; F, -27.8 ± 3.0% versus vehicle control, D, -16.8 ± 1.3%; V, -26.3 ± 2.0%; F, -48.9 ± 2.4%). In LAA-treated eyes, intravitreal injections of BQ-123 did not change the rate of hyperoxia-induced RBF compared to LAA-treated eyes. The anti-ECE-1 antibody was costained with anti-GFAP antibody in the whole-mount retinas.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The current findings suggest that retinal glial ET-1 may play an important role in regulating RBF during hyperoxia in cats.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology Asahikawa Medical University, Asahikawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Youngseok
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology Asahikawa Medical University, Asahikawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Taiji
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nagaoka
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology Asahikawa Medical University, Asahikawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Takafumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoshioka
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology Asahikawa Medical University, Asahikawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ono
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology Asahikawa Medical University, Asahikawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Takanari
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wada
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology Asahikawa Medical University, Asahikawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Seigo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakabayashi
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology Asahikawa Medical University, Asahikawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomofumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tani
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology Asahikawa Medical University, Asahikawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Akitoshi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yoshida