The ciliary ganglion innervates important eye tissues, including the ciliary muscle and body, and regulates aqueous humor outflow.A parasympathetic neuropathy of the ciliary ganglion is present in patients with glaucoma. A substance that could directly and specifically stimulate the ciliary ganglion may be an effective means of treating this disorder. In Phase I, a novel neurotrophic factor (NTF) was purified and partially sequenced, and synthetic peptide was used to produce neutralizing antibodies. In Phase II the aims will be to examine the in vivo effects of the NTF on ciliary nerves and intraocular pressure to prepare immunoaffinity columns using monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies and to set up an immunoassay. The long term goal of this project is to develop this NTF for the treatment of glaucoma in humans. Compared to presently available treatments, this NTF represents a novel approach to the treatment of glaucoma, both in terms of the type of therapeutic agent (protein biological), its site of action (ciliary ganglion neurons), and its focus on addressing an underlying possible cause of the disorder.
