Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-c4f8m Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-24T11:37:21.277Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Concentrations of biogenic amines in fundal layers in chickens with normal visual experience, deprivation, and after reserpine application

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2009

Sibylle Ohngemach
Affiliation:
Department of Pathophysiology of Vision and Neuroophfhalmology, Division of Experimental Ophthalmology, University Eye Hospital Tuebingen, Tuebingen., Germany
Gabi Hagel
Affiliation:
Department of Pathophysiology of Vision and Neuroophfhalmology, Division of Experimental Ophthalmology, University Eye Hospital Tuebingen, Tuebingen., Germany
Frank Schaeffel
Affiliation:
Department of Pathophysiology of Vision and Neuroophfhalmology, Division of Experimental Ophthalmology, University Eye Hospital Tuebingen, Tuebingen., Germany

Abstract

Previous experiments in chickens have shown that dopamine released from the retina may be one of the messengers controlling the growth of the underlying sclera. It is also possible, however, that the apparent relationship between dopamine and myopia is secondary and artifactual. We have done experiments to assess this hypothesis. Using High Pressure Liquid Chromatography with electrochemical detection (HPLC-ED), we have asked whether changes in dopamine metabolism are restricted to the local retinal regions in which myopia was locally induced. Furthermore, we have measured the concentrations of biogenic amines separately in different fundal layers (vitreous, retina, choroid, and sclera) to find out how changes induced by “deprivation” (= removal of high spatial frequencies from the retinal image by translucent eye occluders which produce “deprivation myopia”) are transmitted through these layers. Finally, we have repeated the deprivation experiments after intravitreal application of the irreversible dopamine re-uptake blocker reserpine to see how suppression of dopaminergic transmission affects these changes. We found that (1) Alterations in retinal dopamine metabolism were indeed restricted to the retinal areas in which myopia was induced. (2) The retina was the major source of dopamine release with a steep gradient both to the vitreal and choroidal side. Vitreal content was about one-tenth, choroidal content about one-third, and scleral content about one-twentieth of that of the retina. (3) There was a drop by about 40% in vitreal dopamine, DOPAC (3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid) and HVA (homovanilic acid) concentrations following deprivation which occurred already at a time where little changes could yet be seen in their total retinal contents. (4) Choroidal and scleral dopamine levels were not affected by deprivation, indicating that other messengers must relay the information to the sclera. (5) A single intravitreal injection of reserpine lowered dopamine and HVA levels in retina and vitreous for at least 10 days in a dose-dependent fashion and diminished or suppressed further effects of deprivation on these compounds. DOPAC levels continued to change upon deprivation even after reserpine injection (Fig. 3). Our results suggest that the release rates of dopamine from retinal amacrine cells can be estimated from vitreal dopamine concentrations; furthermore, they are in line with the hypothesis that there is an inverse relationship between dopamine release and axial eye growth rates. Although our experiments do not ultimately prove that dopamine has a functional role in the visual control of eye growth, they are in line with this notion.

Type
Research Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1997

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Alonso, M. & Finn, E.J. (1977). Physik (German edition). Amsterdam: Inter European Editions p. 284.Google Scholar
Bartmann, M., Schaeffel, F., Hagel, G. & Zrenner, E. (1994). Constant light affects retinal dopamine levels and blocks deprivation myopia but not lens-induced refractive errors in chickens. Visual Neuroscience 11, 199209.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Besharse, J.C. & Iuvone, P.M. (1992). Is dopamine a light-adaptive or a dark-adaptive modulator in retina? Neurochemistry International 20, 193199.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bock, G. & Widdows, K. (1990). Myopia and the Control of Eye Growth. Ciba symposium #155, Chichester: Wiley, pp. 1256.Google Scholar
Feldkaemper, M. & Schaeffel, F. (1996). Are retinal image brightness and spatial frequency distribution independently processed during deprivation myopia development? Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science (Suppl.) 37, 4597.Google Scholar
Guo, S.S., Sivak, J.G., Callender, J.G. & Diehl-Johnes, B. (1995). Retinal dopamine and lens-induced refractive errors in chicks. Current Eye Research 14, 385389.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hoffmann, M. & Schaeffel, F. (1996). Melatonin and deprivation myopìa ìn chickens. Neurochemistry International 28, 95107.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Iuvone, P.M., Galli, C.L., Garrison-Gund, C.K. & Neff, N.H. (1978). Light stimulates tyrosine hydroxylase activity and dopamine synthesis in retinal amacrine neurons. Science 202, 901902.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lauber, J.K., Boyd, E.J. & Boyd, T.H.S. (1972). Aqueous humor inflow in normal and glaucomatous avian eyes. Experimental Eve Research 13, 7782.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Li, X.-X., Schaeffel, F., Kohler, K. & Zrenner, E. (1992). Dosedependent effects of 6-hydroxy dopamine on deprivation myopia, electroretinograms, and dopaminergic amacrine cells in chickens. Visual Neuroscience 9, 483492.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lowry, O.H., Rosebrough, N.R., Farr, L.F. & Randall, L.S. (1965). Protein measurement with folin phenol reagent. Journal of Biological Chemistry 192, 265275.Google Scholar
Mangel, S.C. & Wang, Y. (1996). Supersensitivity of dopamine D2/D4 receptors in fish retina. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 37, 662.Google Scholar
Napper, G.A., Brennan, N.A., Barrington, M., Squires, M.A., Vessey, G.A. & Vingrys, A.J. (1995). The duration of normal visual exposure necessary to prevent form deprivation myopia in chicks. Vision Research 35, 13371344.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nickla, D.L. & Wallman, J. (1995). The diurnal rhythms of intraocular pressure and ocular elongation are altered in myopic chick eyes. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science (Suppl.) 36, 1907.Google Scholar
Nickla, D.L., Panos, S.N., Fugate-Wentzek, L.A., Gottlieb, M.D. & Wallman, J. (1989). What attributes of visual stimulation determine whether chick eyes develop deprivation myopia? Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science (Suppl.) 30, 31.Google Scholar
Parkinson, D. & Rando, R.R. (1983). Effects of light on dopamine metabolism in the chick retina. Journal of Neurochemistry 40, 3946.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pickett, Seltner R.L. & Stell, W.K. (1995). The effect of vasoactive intestinal peptide on development of form deprivation myopia in the chick: A pharmacological and immunocytochemical study. Vision Research 35, 12651270.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pletscher, A. (1973). The impact of monoamine research on drug development. In Frontiers in Catecholamine Research, pp. 2737. New York: Pergamon Press Inc.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rice, M.E. & Nicholson, C. (1991). Diffusion of Ions and Transmitters in the brain. In Volume Transmission in the Brain. New York: Raven Press.Google Scholar
Rohrer, B., Iuvone, P.M. & Stell, W.K. (1995). Stimulation of dopaminergic amacrine cells by stroboscopic illumination or fibroblast growth factor (bFGF, FGF-2) injections: Possible roles in prevention of form-deprivation myopia in the chick. Brain Research 686, 169181.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rohrer, B., Spira, A.W. & Stell, W.K. (1993). Apomorphine blocks form-deprivation myopia in chickens by a D2-receptor mechanism acting in retina or pigmented epithelium. Visual Neuroscience 10, 447453.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schaeffel, F. & Howland, H.C. (1991). Properties of the feedback loop controlling eye growth and refractive state in the chicken. Vision Research 31, 717734.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schaeffel, F., Bartmann, M., Hagel, G. & Zrenner, E. (1995). Studies on the role of retinal dopamine/melatonin system in experimental refractive errors in chickens. Vision Research 35, 12471264.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schaeffel, F., Hagel, G., Bartmann, M., Kohler, K. & Zrenner, E. (1994 a). 6-Hydroxy dopamine does not affect lens-induced refractive errors but suppresses deprivation myopia. Vision Research 34, 143149.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schaeffel, F., Hagel, G., Eikermann, J. & Collett, T.T. (1994 b). Lower field myopia and astigmatism in amphibians and chickens. Journal of Optical Society of America A 11, 487495.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schmid, G.F., Papastergiou, G.I., Riva, C.E., Petrig, B.L., Stone, R.A., Mendel, M.J. & Laties, A.M. (1995). Diurnal fluctuations of axial eye length are observed in both chicks and adult chickens. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science (Suppl.) 36, 3506.Google Scholar
Stone, R.A., Lin, T. & Laties, A.M. (1991). Muscarinic antagonist effects on experimental chick myopia. Experimental Eye Research 52, 755758.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tagliati, M., Bodis-Wollner, I., Kovanecz, I. & Stanzione, P. (1994). Spacial frequency tuning in the monkey pattern ERG depends on D2-linked action of dopamine. Vision Research 34, 20512057.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Teakle, E.M., Wildsoet, C.F. & Vaney, D.J. (1993). The spatial organization of tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoactive amacrine cells in the chicken retina and the consequences of myopia. Vision Research 33, 23832396.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wallman, J., Gottlieb, M.D., Rajaram, V. & Fugate-Wentzek, L. (1987). Local retinal regions control local eye growth and myopia. Science 237, 7377.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wallman, J., Turkel, J. & Trachtman, J. (1978). Extreme myopia produced by modest chances in early visual experiments. Science 201, 12491251.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weiss, S. & Schaeffel, F. (1993). Diurnal growth rhythms in the chicken eye: Relation to myopia development and retinal dopamine levels. Journal of Comparative Physiology A 172, 263270.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wichern, B. & Rujan, P. (1995). Analysis of dopamine diffusion in the extracellular space of the retina. Proceedings of the 23rd Göttingen Neurobiology Conference II, 655.Google Scholar
Wildsoet, C.F., Mcbrien, N.A. & Clark, I.Q. (1994). Atropine inhibition of lens induced effects in chick: Evidence for similar mechanisms underlaying form deprivation and lens induced myopia. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences (Suppl.) 35, 3774.Google Scholar
Wildsoet, C.F. & Wallman, J. (1995). Choroidal and scleral mechanisms of compensation for spectacle lenses in chicks. Vision Research 35, 11751195.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wildsoet, C.F., Clark, I.Q. & Teakle, E.M. (1995). Dose-dependent inhibitory effects of AMPA on form deprivation myopia and lens defocuse-induced chances in chicks. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science (Suppl.) 36, 1905.Google Scholar
Witkovsky, P. & Schuette, M. (1991). The organisation of dopaminergic neurons in vertebrate retinas. Visual Neuroscience 7, 113124.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Witkovsky, P., Nicholson, C., Rice, M.E., Bohmaker, K. & Meller, E. (1993). Extracellular dopamine concentration in the retina of the clawed frog, Xenopus laevis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the U.S.A. 90, 56675671.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed