Preservation of vasoactive properties of human retinal arteries after cryopreservation
1Lions Eye Institute, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Australia.
Purpose:
Although we have several established in vitro systems for studying the vasoactive properties of the ocular vasculature, the restricted availability of human donor tissue has forced us to rely predominantly on animal studies.
Methods:
The present paper describes, for the first time, a controlled-rate cryopreservation technique capable of maintaining vasoactive function in human retinal arteries after extended storage.
Results/Conclusion:
The response to constrictive (endothelin-I) and vasodilatory agents (nimodipine and betaxolol) was comparable with that in fresh pig vessels. It is now possible to obtain multiple segments of retinal artery from a single donor eye and to preserve them for detailed pharmacological assessment.
