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Elevated Hydrostatic Pressure Selectively Enhances Matricellular Gene Expression In Human Trabecular Meshwork Cells, Jonathan Lautz

Dissertations

Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is a progressive optic neuropathy

characterized by loss of peripheral vision secondarily associated with elevated intraocular pressure (IOP). Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β2 is markedly elevated in the aqueous humor (AH) of patients with POAG. It has been previously shown that TGF-β2 increases IOP, in part, by inducing expression and release of endothelin-1 (ET-1) and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) within the trabecular meshwork (TM). ET-1 and CTGF may ultimately lead to increases in IOP by enhancing TM cell contractility and extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition. Here we confirm that TGF-β2 enhances mRNA content of ET-1, CTGF, and …