Morphology of axonal transport abnormalities in primate eyes

The ultrastructure of the retina and optic nerve head was studied in primate eyes after central retinal artery occlusion. Within 2 hours of the vascular occlusion the inner retinal layers undergo watery (isosmotic) swelling. This watery swelling of axons and astroglia extends into the nerve head as far back as the anterior boundary of the scleral lamina cribrosa. The swelling is increased 4 hours after the occlusion, and by 24 hours disintegration has occurred. At the optic nerve head mitochondria and vesicles of smooth endoplasmic reticulum begin to accumulate within 2 hours. The accumulation increases at 4 hours and persists to 24 hours. The watery swelling seems characteristic of ischaemic axons. Membranous organelles accumulate at the boundary of an ischaemic zone when material carried by axonal transport is brought via the healthy axon segment to the boundary, but they cannot proceed further into the ischaemic zone. Such accumulation is typical of locations where rapid orthograde axonal transport or retrograde axonal transport is blocked. In contrast, when slow axonal flow is impaired, the swelling is characterised by an excess of cytoplasmic gel without a marked accumulation of organelles. Rapid orthograde transport and retrograde transport seem to be closely related to one another, while slow axoplasmic flow seems fundamentally different. From morphological findings we suspect that, in experimental glaucoma, intraocular pressure first affects the intracellular physiological process of rapid orthograde and retrograde axonal transport. Watery swelling may not occur unless the ischaemic injury to cell metabolism is more advanced. In contrast, in experimental papilloedema, the swelling results predominantly from impaired slow axoplasmic flow.