Hyaluronidase and retinal function
B. S. Winkler and E. M. Cohn
Using the incubated isolated rat retina, the effects of hyaluronidase on
the electroretinogram (ERG) and metabolic activities were investigated.
Initial experiments established the activity of hyaluronidase needed to
liquefy, within 15 to 30 minutes, the vitreous of postmortem human eyes;
this concentration was 1,000 units/mL. Rat retinas were superfused with a
bicarbonate-buffered, oxygenated medium to which hyaluronidase was added in
activities ranging from 100 to 5,000 units/mL. These concentrations of
hyaluronidase did not significantly alter the amplitudes of the a waves and
b waves of the ERG in comparison to their control amplitudes. Measurements
were also made of lactic acid production, oxygen consumption, glutathione
content, and adenosine triphosphatase activities in control and
hyaluronidase-exposed retinas. In the presence of hyaluronidase, their
respective values were similar to the controls for all biochemical factors
studied. The present experiments demonstrate that addition of hyaluronidase
to an "ocular irrigating" solution results in normal ERGs and normal
retinal metabolic activity and suggests the possibility that hyaluronidase
may be useful in enzyme-assisted vitrectomy.
