The Role of Adrenoceptors in the Retina

The retina is a part of the central nervous system, a thin multilayer with neuronal lamination, responsible for detecting, preprocessing, and sending visual information to the brain. Many retinal diseases are characterized by hemodynamic perturbations and neurodegeneration leading to vision loss and reduced quality of life. Since catecholamines and respective bindings sites have been characterized in the retina, we systematically reviewed the literature with regard to retinal expression, distribution and function of alpha(1) (α(1))-, alpha(2) (α(2))-, and beta (β)-adrenoceptors (ARs). Moreover, we discuss the role of the individual adrenoceptors as targets for the treatment of retinal diseases.