Ciliary Epithelial Maxi K Channels

The term “glaucoma” describes a group of eye diseases with a specific pattern of optic nerve head and visual field damage. Glaucoma is caused by a number of different diseases of the eye, most (but not all) of which are associated with an elevated pressure within the eye (intraocular pressure). The medical treatment of glaucoma uses eye drops and pills to lower the eye pressure to prevent progressive damage to the optic nerve. The pressure within ‘the eye is related to a balance of [1] the rate at which fluid (aqueous humor) is produced by a specialized tissue (the ciliary body) which lies behind the color portion (the iris) of the eye and [2] the rate at which fluid leaves the eyes. Medical treatment lowers eye pressure by either decreasing the rate of fluid production or increasing the rate of fluid exit from the eye. The present research is directed to provide information on mechanisms by which the specialized tissue within the eye produces aqueous humor. Studies are performed on individual cells using very small probes (called micropipettes) to study movement of salts across the cell’s outside membrane. This is a sensitive, state-of-the-art technique able to detect channels in the cell’s membrane through which salts can pass. There are many conditions and drugs which affect these channels causing them to either open or close. The salt studied in the current research is potassium. The effect of medications used in glaucoma treatment will be investigated to determine their effect on this potassium channel. The results from our studies will provide a better knowledge regarding the processes involved in the formation of fluid within the eye. This information will add to our understanding how medications currently used for the treatment of glaucoma work. This combined knowledge may lead to the development of newer glaucoma medications which are more effective and have less side effects than those currently available.