Abstract
Purpose
To characterise longitudinal structural and functional changes in albino Sprague-Dawley rats following circumlimbal suture ocular hypertension (OHT) induction.
Methods
Ten-week-old rats (n = 24) underwent suture implantation around the limbal region in both eyes. On the next day, the suture was removed from one eye (control eyes) and left intact in the other eye (OHT eyes) of each animal. Intraocular pressure (IOP) was monitored weekly twice for the next 15 weeks. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) and electroretinogram (ERG) were measured at baseline and weeks 4, 8, 12, and 15, and eyes were then collected for histological assessment.
Results
Sutured eyes (n = 12) developed IOP elevation of ~ 50% in the first 2 weeks that was sustained at ~ 25% above the control eye up to week 15 (p = 0.001). Animals with insufficient IOP elevation (n = 6), corneal changes (n = 3), and attrition (n = 3) were excluded from the analysis. OHT eyes developed significant retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) thinning (week 4: − 19 ± 14%, p = 0.10; week 8: − 17 ± 12%, p = 0.04; week 12: − 16 ± 10%, p = 0.04, relative to baseline) and reduction in retinal ganglion cell (RGC) density (− 32 ± 26%, p = 0.02). At week 15, both inner (9 ± 7%, p = 0.01) and outer retinal layer thicknesses (6.0 ± 5%, p = 0.001) showed a mild increase in thicknesses. The positive scotopic threshold response (− 28 ± 25%, p = 0.04) and a-wave were significantly reduced at week 12 (− 35 ± 21%; p = 0.04), whereas b-wave was not significantly affected (week 12: − 18 ± 27%, p = 0.24).
Conclusion
The circumlimbal suture model produced a chronic, moderate IOP elevation in an albino strain that led to RNFL thinning and reduced RGC density along with the reductions in ganglion and photoreceptoral cell functions. There was a small thickening in both outer and inner retinal layers.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Dr. Hsin-Hua Liu, Centre for Eye Research, Australia, for sharing surgical technic nuances on model induction. The authors acknowledge Dr. Ricky Wing Kei WU, School of Medical and Health Sciences, Tung Wah College, Hong Kong, for availing their laboratory facilities to perform the histological procedures. The authors also thank the University Research Facilities in Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience (UBSN) and in Life Sciences (ULS), The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, for technical and facility supports.
Funding
The study is supported by the General Research Fund (PolyU 151001/17M) from Research Grants Council, HKSAR; Central Research Grant (for Research Student); and Internal Research Grants (G-YBGC, Z0GF) from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
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Lakshmanan, Y., Wong, F.S.Y., Zuo, B. et al. Longitudinal outcomes of circumlimbal suture model-induced chronic ocular hypertension in Sprague-Dawley albino rats. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 258, 2715–2728 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-020-04820-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-020-04820-7