Pressure-induced optic nerve axonal transport interruption in cat eyes.

After intravitreal injection of tritiated leucine, optic nerve axonal transport was studied in 30 cat eyes by tissue radioautography. Twenty-five experimental eyes were examined after four hours of acute pressure elevation with perfusion pressures maintained at 20 to 70 mm Hg. In five control specimens, intraocular pressures were maintained at 10 mm Hg for the four-hour interval. The extent of leucine accumulation, as seen by radioautographs, was inversely proportional to the perfusion pressure. Accumulation was limited to the region fo the lamina cribrosa. The anatomic distribution and pressure response of this transport interruption were similar to those seen in primate eyes studied under similar conditions.