Angiotensin-II contracts isolated human posterior ciliary arteries

The effect of angiotensin-II (A-II) was studied on ring segments of the terminal extraocular branches of the posterior ciliary artery isolated from human enucleated eyes. It induced a potent concentration-dependent contraction on top of the spontaneous myogenic tone of all arteries studied from five patients with the concentration required to give half-maximal response equal to 51 nM. The spontaneous tone and maximal increase in vessel wall tension induced by A-II was equal to 51% of Emax. The relative response and sensitivity to A-II was unchanged in three endothelial denuded vessels, but the spontaneous tone increased. The arteries became completely insensitive to A-II after one exposure. These results show an immediate direct contractile effect of A-II on human posterior ciliary arteries, but the development of pronounced tachyphylaxis indicates that A-II is probably not an important factor in reducing blood flow to the optic nerve head.