TY - JOUR
T1 - A model of glaucoma induced by circumlimbal suture in rats and mice
AU - He, Zheng
AU - Zhao, Da
AU - van Koeverden, Anna K.
AU - Nguyen, Christine T.
AU - Lim, Jeremiah K.H.
AU - Wong, Vickie H.Y.
AU - Vingrys, Algis J.
AU - Bui, Bang V.
PY - 2018/10/5
Y1 - 2018/10/5
N2 - The circumlimbal suture is a technique for inducing experimental glaucoma in rodents by chronically elevating intraocular pressure (IOP), a well-known risk factor for glaucoma. This protocol demonstrates a step-by-step guide on this technique in Long Evans rats and C57BL/6 mice. Under general anesthesia, a "purse-string" suture is applied on the conjunctiva, around the equator and behind the limbus of the eye. The fellow eye serves as an untreated control. Over the duration of our study, which was a period of 8 weeks for rats and 12 weeks for mice, IOP remained elevated, as measured regularly by rebound tonometry in conscious animals without topical anesthesia. In both species, the sutured eyes showed electroretinogram features consistent with preferential inner retinal dysfunction. Optical coherence tomography showed selective thinning of the retinal nerve fiber layer. Histology of the rat retina in cross-section found reduced cell density in the ganglion cell layer, but no change in other cellular layers. Staining of flat-mounted mouse retinae with a ganglion cell specific marker (RBPMS) confirmed ganglion cell loss. The circumlimbal suture is a simple, minimally invasive and cost-effective way to induce ocular hypertension that leads to ganglion cell injury in both rats and mice.
AB - The circumlimbal suture is a technique for inducing experimental glaucoma in rodents by chronically elevating intraocular pressure (IOP), a well-known risk factor for glaucoma. This protocol demonstrates a step-by-step guide on this technique in Long Evans rats and C57BL/6 mice. Under general anesthesia, a "purse-string" suture is applied on the conjunctiva, around the equator and behind the limbus of the eye. The fellow eye serves as an untreated control. Over the duration of our study, which was a period of 8 weeks for rats and 12 weeks for mice, IOP remained elevated, as measured regularly by rebound tonometry in conscious animals without topical anesthesia. In both species, the sutured eyes showed electroretinogram features consistent with preferential inner retinal dysfunction. Optical coherence tomography showed selective thinning of the retinal nerve fiber layer. Histology of the rat retina in cross-section found reduced cell density in the ganglion cell layer, but no change in other cellular layers. Staining of flat-mounted mouse retinae with a ganglion cell specific marker (RBPMS) confirmed ganglion cell loss. The circumlimbal suture is a simple, minimally invasive and cost-effective way to induce ocular hypertension that leads to ganglion cell injury in both rats and mice.
KW - Animal model
KW - Chronic ocular hypertension
KW - Circumlimbal suture
KW - Glaucoma
KW - Intraocular pressure
KW - Issue 140
KW - Medicine
KW - Retinal ganglion cells
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85055074443&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://purl.org/au-research/grants/NHMRC/1046203
UR - http://purl.org/au-research/grants/ARC/FT130100338
U2 - 10.3791/58287
DO - 10.3791/58287
M3 - Article
C2 - 30346390
AN - SCOPUS:85055074443
SN - 1940-087X
VL - October 2018
JO - Journal of Visualized Experiments
JF - Journal of Visualized Experiments
IS - 140
M1 - e58287
ER -