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Laboratory science
Original article
Ischaemia in the Zinn–Haller circle and glaucomatous optic neuropathy in macaque monkeys
  1. Mari Hiraoka1,
  2. Kenichi Inoue2,
  3. Taihei Ninomiya2,
  4. Masahiko Takada2
  1. 1Division of Brain Development and Neuroregeneration, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
  2. 2Systems Neuroscience Section, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi, Japan
  1. Correspondence to Dr Mari Hiraoka, Eye Research Division, Central Eye Infirmary, 1-24-15 Nukui-kitamachi, Koganei, Tokyo 184-0015, Japan; mari9190{at}true.ocn.ne.jp

Abstract

Aims To elucidate the morphological features of optic neuropathy in an ischaemic model of glaucoma in macaque monkeys.

Methods The regional degenerative process was investigated by experimentally occluding the paraoptic branches of the lateral short posterior ciliary artery, that is, the circle of Haller and Zinn, in 11 eyes. Morphological changes in nerve fibres in the lamina cribrosa were evaluated by histopathology, immunocytochemistry and angiography, and the findings were compared with those observed in an aged macaque with spontaneous glaucomatous optic neuropathy.

Results Retinal ganglion cell axons were grouped in bundles and traversed through pores in columns of the lamina cribrosa. The processes of astrocytes extended to the bundles, and capillaries branched in surrounding connective tissue from the circular arterioles. Experimental ischaemia induced time-dependent anoxic deterioration of phosphorylated fibres in the temporal arcuate zone, accompanied by glial proliferation. A monkey with spontaneous visual impairment had nerve fibre loss and gliosis with collagenous proliferation in the temporal hemisphere, suggesting glaucomatous neuropathy.

Conclusions Circulatory interference in the circle of Haller and Zinn caused time-dependent deterioration in the area where anoxic segmental degeneration is associated with pathogenesis of open-angle glaucoma.

  • Experimental glaucoma
  • circle of Haller and Zinn
  • ischaemic optic neuropathy
  • macaque glaucoma
  • glaucoma

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial License, which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non commercial and is otherwise in compliance with the license. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/ and http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/legalcode.

https://doi.org/10.1136/bjophthalmol-2011-300831

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    Footnotes

    • Funding This work is supported by the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute Research Project for Medical Sciences.

    • Competing interests None.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.