Collagen, factor VIII antigen, and immunoglobulins in the human aqueous drainage channels.

Twenty-five trabeculectomy specimens from patients with primary open angle glaucoma and chronic angle closure glaucoma, and 11 age-matched controls were examined by immunofluorescence and immunoperoxidase techniques to determine the types of collagen, immunoglobulins, and the presence of factor VIII-related antigen in the human aqueous drainage channels. In the glaucoma cases and in controls, we demonstrated that the electron dense basement membrane-like material in the peripheral portion of the trabecular beams and in the juxtacanalicular meshwork, consists at least in part, of type IV collagen, a noncollagenous protein ("laminin") and fibronectin. Factor VIII-related antigen was demonstrated in conjunctival vessels of the control eyes. Schlemm's canal and the trabecular endothelial cells did not stain for factor VIII-related/antigen in any of the specimens examined. No deposits of IgA, IgM, IgG, and the C3 component of complement were detected in the aqueous drainage channels.