Distribution of Ascorbate in the Anterior Bovine Eye
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Distribution of Ascorbate in the Anterior Bovine Eye Amund Ringvold, Erlend Anderssen, and Inge Kjønniksen PURPOSE. To analyze the ascorbate distribution in the anterior eye wall to better understand the functional significance of this compound in the eye. METHODS. Ascorbic acid was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography using an LC-10 system (Shimadzu, Kyoto, Japan). Bovine eye samples were used. RESULTS. The highest ascorbate concentration was observed in the corneal epithelium, with significantly higher values in the central (1.56 mg/g) than in the peripheral (1.39 mg/g) area. The ascorbate content was similar in the corneal stroma (0.22 mg/g), the Descemet’s membrane (DM)/endothelium (0.22 mg/g), and the aqueous humor (0.21 mg/ml). By comparison, the sclera (0.15 mg/g) and the conjunctiva (0.11 mg/g) showed lower values, as did the lacrimal gland (0.09 mg/g) and the serum (0.0008 mg/ml). CONCLUSIONS. (1) Peak ascorbate concentration was observed in the central corneal epithelium covering the pupillary area. This is compatible with the idea that the ascorbate may act as an UV filter shielding internal eye structures from radiation damage. (2) The ascorbate concentration in the corneal stroma and DM/endothelium was as high as in the aqueous humor, and it is suggested that the aqueous humor plays a key role in the distribution of ascorbate to the anterior eye wall. (Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2000;41:20–23) ince the first report of significant amounts of ascorbate in better understanding of the ascorbate distribution in the cor- the aqueous humor,1 high concentrations have been ob- nea and its surrounding tissues may provide some clues as to its served in many parts of the eye,2 with peak values in the functional aspects, so we decided to analyze the ascorbate S 3,4 corneal epithelium. It has turned out, however, that the concentration in different parts of the anterior eye. The bovine ascorbate content is higher in diurnal than in nocturnal mam- eye was chosen as the model because of its size, availability, mals, both in the aqueous humor5–7 and in the corneal epithe- and significant ascorbate content. lium.8 Indeed, the amount of ascorbate in different ocular compartments seems adjusted to the suggested ambient radia- tion dose at each particular level, and from these observations MATERIALS AND METHODS it has been deduced that the ascorbate acts as a UV filter protecting the eye from radiation damage. Fresh bovine eyes were collected at the abattoir. For practical During recent years, some experimental support has been reasons, the time span between killing and enucleation could presented for this hypothesis. Reddy et al.,9 who compared the not be reduced below 15 minutes. With subsequent time- effect of UV radiation on DNA strand breaks in the lens epi- consuming preparation procedures added, the total time from thelium of rat and guinea pig, concluded that high levels of death to frozen specimen was up to 2.5 hours in the most ascorbate in the aqueous humor of diurnal animals may protect detailed experiments. Two different pilot studies were there- the lens against UV radiation under physiological conditions. fore performed to test the stability of the cornea and its sur- Furthermore, it has been shown that the most efficient radia- rounding tissues/fluids during the preparation period. When tion in cell killing in cultured rabbit lens epithelium is the not otherwise specified, paired sampling was performed from 297-nm wavelength,10 i.e., just those rays most likely to be the single eye throughout. Eyes deliberately stored before absorbed by the aqueous ascorbate in vivo.5 However, Wil- preparation were kept in closed plastic bags at room temper- liams and Delamere11 have pointed out that the lack of anti- ature to reduce the loss of water and to prevent reduced ion oxidant protection due to low ascorbate in the nocturnal pump activity in the anterior eye. The bovine cornea is oval; aqueous might be compensated for by the high activity of a the longest and shortest diameters were 29.1 6 0.1 and 22.7 6 peroxidase enzyme. 0.1 mm (10 eyes), respectively. Many questions remain unanswered concerning the sig- nificance of ascorbate for the cornea and its subjacent struc- Pilot Studies tures. Of particular interest is how it gets to the cornea. A (a) The amount of postmortem ascorbate loss was estimated by comparing the ascorbate content in en bloc specimens of cornea and conjunctiva/sclera at 15 minutes and 2.5 hours From The National Hospital Pharmacy, Oslo, Norway. after death, respectively. Such crude specimens were collected Submitted for publication April 8, 1999; revised August 16, 1999; readily within a few minutes of the desired time by opening the accepted September 3, 1999. cornea at the external limbal demarcation with a razor blade. Commercial relationships policy: N. Corresponding author: Amund Ringvold, Eye Department, Na- The specimen was cut free with a pair of scissors, and a 5-mm tional Hospital, University of Oslo, Pilestr. 32, N-0027 Oslo, Norway. broad rim of the adjacent conjunctival/scleral tissue was iso- [email protected] lated. The specimens were then immediately incubated en bloc Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, January 2000, Vol. 41, No. 1 20 Copyright © Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Downloaded from iovs.arvojournals.org on 09/26/2021 IOVS, January 2000, Vol. 41, No. 1 Ascorbate and Anterior Bovine Eye 21 (see below), there being no further time-consuming proce- (0.5–1.5 ml) of metaphosphoric acid of 100 g/l water were dures. used, depending on the size of the specimens. The epithelial, (b) The aqueous humor, tear fluid, and limbal blood ves- conjunctival, DM/endothelial, and lacrimal gland specimens sels are putative sources of ascorbate to the cornea, and their were homogenized as far as possible with a Teflon pestle in the ascorbate concentrations were analyzed accordingly. The original vials (10 ml disposable glass containers without any aqueous humor was tested 15 minutes, 1, 2, and 3 hours after coating) for 1 minute, before being frozen for storage in the death. Blood was collected from living animals and lacrimal same containers. Because the corneal stroma and sclera were gland from 30 to 60 minutes postmortem. assumed to resist this treatment and because homogenization Subsequently, the ascorbate distribution in the various with a metal pestle would induce ascorbate oxidation, speci- parts of the anterior eye wall was analyzed in four different mens containing these elements were frozen slowly experiments, each of which was run twice. Separately isolated, (25–10°C) and thawed three times in the refrigerator to create fresh tissues were used for each run. a spongious tissue accessible to the incubation solution. Minc- ing such specimens by cryosectioning also was tested in sep- Experiment I arate experiments. However, a ceramic knife was too blunt, The ascorbate contents in the central versus the peripheral and a metal knife reduced the amount of ascorbate by some corneal epithelium were compared. The central area was de- 50% (not shown). Specimens were stored at 235°C and ana- fined by a corneal trephine 9 mm in diameter placed center to lyzed within 2 weeks. center with the pupil, the peripheral area outside reaching to The high-performance liquid chromagraphy (HPLC) sys- the limbus. The respective specimens were then rubbed off tem consisted of a Shimadzu LC-10 system (Kyoto, Japan) using with a diamond knife or a microscope slide. a SPD-M10AVP detector, a SIL-10A autoinjector, an LC-10AS pump, degasser, and LC-10 software. The chromatographic Experiment II conditions were adapted from Rodriguez et al.12 The column used was a Supelcosil LC-18, 250 3 4.6 mm, 5-mm particle size The central epithelium was further analyzed separately. In this (Supelco, Bellafonte, PA), with a small guard column contain- experiment, the central epithelium was defined as the circular ing the same material. The mobile phase consisted of HPLC- area covering the total pupil. A plastic template imitating the grade water acidified to pH 2.2 with sulfuric acid (isocratic pupil’s form, which is oval in the bovine eye, was created. This method). The flow rate was 1.0 ml/min, with the detection template, formed by two parallel sides 6 mm apart closed by performed at 243 nm. The column was washed regularly in two half-circles with the top points 12 mm apart, was placed grade water. on the epithelium to indicate the area of study. The template The specimens were thawed to room temperature and was subsequently circumscribed with a diamond knife, and the centrifuged at 12,000g for 10 minutes, and the supernatants marked area was rubbed off. Because paired sampling was were injected (20 ml) in triplicate into the HPLC apparatus impossible, the number of eyes was doubled. Two separate from injector glass vials without further dilution. The analyst series were run, one with the template corresponding to the was not informed about the type and order of the specimens. pupil and one with the template rotated 90° to it. In the Standard curves were obtained after triplicate injection of 0.01, following, these specimens are referred to as “horizontal” and 0.1, 0.25, and 0.5 mg/ml of analytical grade ascorbic acid “vertical,” respectively. dissolved in 10% metaphosphoric acid. The correlation coeffi- Experiment III cient of the standard curves was always greater than 0.999, and linearity was shown to be between 0.005 and 0.5 mg/ml. Anterior eye wall tissue was analyzed. The total epithelium was Minimum detection limit of the standard was found to be 10 rubbed off, and a limited aqueous sample aspirated before the ng/ml.