A substance with somatostatin-like immunoreactivity (SLI) was found in extracts of goldfish, frog, and cow retina. Dilutions of retinal SLI parallel the standard curve for radioimmunoassay obtained with synthetic somatostatin. Chromatography of goldfish retinal extract on Sephadex G-50 revealed two peaks of SLI, one that coeluted with synthetic somatostatin and one that eluted as a larger molecule. Incubation in 8 M urea did not alter the chromatographic pattern of the extract. SLI was present in extracts of frog optic nerve and tectum in concentrations higher than those found in the retina. In goldfish retina, SLI was localized by immunofluorescence to four types of processes in the inner plexiform layer; their origins could be traced to three classes of SLI-containing cell bodies in the proximal row of the inner nuclear layer and one class in the ganglion cell layer. Localization of SLI to cells of the retina and characterizations of the molecular forms of retinal SLI suggest that the retina is a promising model system for studies on the potential neurotransmitter function of somatostatin.
Abstract Studies of form-deprivation myopia (FDM) in animal models have shown that postnatal ocular growth is regulated by the quality of patterned images on the retina. One of the major challenges in myopia research is to identify the biochemical mechanisms which translate retinal visual responses into signals that regulate scleral growth. Dopamine (DA) has been implicated in this process, since retinal DA levels decline in FDM and subconjunctival injections of apomorphine (Apo, a nonspecific DA agonist) prevent FDM in a dose-dependent way (Stone et al. , 1989). To gain insight into where and how DA ligands act to regulate ocular elongation, we compared the action and distribution of DA receptor ligands injected intravitreally vs. subconjunctivally in young chicks. Ocular length was measured by A-scan ultrasound. We found that daily intravitreal injections of Apo block FDM at a 50% effective dose ( ED 50 ) of 5 pg per day, or a peak concentration in the vitreous humor of 108 pM, compared to an ED 50 of 2.5 ng for subconjunctival injections as reported by Stone et al. (1989, 1990). [ 3 H]-spiperone, a D 2 -receptor antagonist, reached average maximum retinal concentrations of 160 pM and 260 pM, during the first hour after intravitreal and subconjunctival administration, respectively, at the ED 50 dose. In contrast, the maximum spiperone concentrations in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) were 30 pM and 410 pM, respectively, after intravitreal or subconjunctival ED 50 doses. Spiperone concentrations in sclera after ED 50 doses to the two sites differed by 4 x 10 4 (0.4 pM vs. 1.7 nM, respectively). The FDM-preventing action of Apo was blocked completely by simultaneous administration of spiperone but not by SCH 23390 (a D 1 -receptor antagonist) in 100-fold molar excess. These results show that apomorphine acts to prevent FDM at an intraocular site, presumably in retina and/or pigment epithelium, but not sclera, whether administered intravitreally or subconjunctivally. A dose yielding a concentration of 100–260 pM, delivered ≤1 h per day, produces half-maximal inhibition. This action is mediated by D 2 -receptors, for which the dissociation constant for apomorphine is ≤1 nM. The retinal pigment epithelium may act as a trophic relay station, responding to a retinal messenger which may be DA and secreting scleral growth-regulator(s) from its basal surface.
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