Immunolocalisation of P2Y receptors in the rat eye.

Nucleotides present an important role in ocular physiology which has been demonstrated by recent works that indicate their involvement in many ocular processes. P2Y are important among P2 receptors since they can control tear production, corneal wound healing, aqueous humour dynamics and retinal physiology. Commercial antibodies have allowed us to investigate the distribution of P2Y receptors in the cornea, anterior and posterior chamber of the eye and retina. The P2Y(1) receptor was present mainly in cornea, ciliary processes, and trabecular meshwork. The P2Y(2) receptors were present in cornea, ciliary processes and retinal pigmented epithelium. P2Y(4) was present in cornea, ciliary processes, photoreceptors, outer plexiform layer and ganglion cell layer. The P2Y(6) presented almost an identical distribution as the P2Y(4) receptor. The P2Y(11) was also detectable in the retinal pigmented epithelium. The detailed distribution of the receptors clearly supports the recent findings indicating the relevant role of nucleotides in the ocular function.