longitudinal-vivo-imaging-retinal-cells-with-tailored-adeno

Longitudinal <em>In Vivo</em> Imaging of Retinal Cells with Tailored Adeno-Associated Virus Serotypes <em>via</em> Confocal Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscopy

The dynamic nature of retinal cellular processes necessitates advancements in gene delivery and live monitoring techniques to enhance the understanding ...

Capital Medical University, Beijing Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences Key Laboratory

Diabetes mellitus-induced hyperglycemia is responsible for multiple pathological ocular alternations from vasculopathy to biomechanical dyshomeostasis. Biomechanical homeostasis is crucial to maintain the normal physiological condition of the eyes. Biomechanical features vary in eye tissues regarding different anatomical positions, tissue components, and cellular functions. The disturbance in biomechanical homeostasis may result in different ocular diseases. In this review, we provide a preliminary sketch of the latest evidence on the mechano-environment of the eyeball and its possible influencing factors, thereby underscoring the relationship between the dyshomeostasis of ocular biomechanics and common eye diseases (e.g., diabetic retinopathy, keratoconus, glaucoma, spaceflight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome, retinal vein occlusion and myopia, etc.). Together with the reported evidence, we further discuss and postulate the potential role of biomechanical homeostasis in ophthalmic pathology. Some latest strategies to investigate the biomechanical properties in ocular diseases help unveil the pathological changes at multiple scales, offering references for making new diagnostic and treatment strategies targeting mechanobiology.

Biomechanical homeostasis in ocular diseases: A mini-review.

The pathogenesis of glaucoma is still unknown. There are few studies on the dynamic change of tissue-specific and time-specific molecular pathophysiology caused by ocular hypertension (OHT). This study aimed to identify the early proteomic alterations in the retina, optic nerve head (ONH), and optic nerve (ON). After establishing a rat model of OHT, we harvested the tissues from control and glaucomatous eyes and analyzed the changes in protein expression using a multiplexed quantitative proteomics approach (TMT-MS3). Our study identified 6403 proteins after 1-day OHT and 4399 proteins after 7-days OHT in the retina, 5493 proteins after 1-day OHT and 4544 proteins after 7-days OHT in ONH, and 5455 proteins after 1-day OHT and 3835 proteins after 7-days OHT in the ON. Of these, 560 and 489 differential proteins were identified on day 1 and 7 after OHT in the retina, 428 and 761 differential proteins were identified on day 1 and 7 after OHT in the ONH, and 257 and 205 differential proteins on days 1 and 7 after OHT in the ON. Computational analysis on day 1 and 7 of OHT revealed that alpha-2 macroglobulin was upregulated across two time points and three tissues stably. The differentially expressed proteins between day 1 and 7 after OHT in the retina, ONH, and ON were associated with glutathione metabolism, mitochondrial dysfunction/oxidative phosphorylation, oxidative stress, microtubule, and crystallin. And the most significant change in retina are crystallins. We validated this proteomic result with the Western blot of crystallin proteins and found that upregulated on day 1 but recovered on day 7 after OHT, which are promising as therapeutic targets. These findings provide insights into the time- and region-order mechanisms that are specifically affected in the retina, ONH, and ON in response to elevated IOP during the early stages.

Early Proteomic Characteristics and Changes in the Optic Nerve Head, Optic Nerve, and Retina in a Rat Model of Ocular Hypertension.

Glaucoma is a highly heritable disease, and myocilin was the first identified causal and most common pathogenic gene in glaucoma. Serine-to-proline mutation at position 341 of myocilin (MYOC) is associated with severe glaucoma phenotypes in a five-generation primary open-angle glaucoma family. However, the underlying mechanisms are underexplored. Herein, we established the MYOC transgenic mouse model and characterized the glaucoma phenotypes. Further, we systematically explored the functional differences between wild-type and MYOC through immunoprecipitation, mass spectrometry, and RNA-seq analyses. We found that MYOC transgenic mice exhibit glaucoma phenotypes, characterized by reduced aqueous humor outflow, elevated intraocular pressure, decreased trabecular meshwork (TM) cell number, narrowed Schlemm's canal, retinal ganglion cell loss, and visual impairment. Mechanistically, the secretion of dysfunctional MYOC accumulated in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), inducing ER stress and dysregulation of autophagy, thereby promoting TM cell death. We describe an effective transgenic model for mechanistic studies and the screening of therapeutic targets. Our data generated from high-throughput analyses help elucidate the mechanism underlying mutant MYOC-related glaucoma.

Serine to proline mutation at position 341 of MYOC impairs trabecular meshwork function by causing autophagy deregulation.

Low intracranial pressure (LICP)-induced translaminar cribrosa pressure difference (TLCPD) elevation has been proven as a risk factor in glaucomatous neurodegeneration, whereas the underlying retinal immune features of LICP-induced retinal ganglion cells (RGC) injury remain elusive. Here, we identified the retinal immune characteristics of LICP rats, and minocycline (Mino) treatment was utilized to analyze its inhibitory role in glia-mediated retinal inflammation of LICP rats. The results showed that retrograde axonal transport was decreased in LICP rats without significant RGC loss, indicating the RGC injury was at an early stage before the morphological loss. The activation of retinal microglia and astrocytes with morphologic and M1 or A1-marker alternations was detected in TLCPD elevation rats, the activation level is more dramatic in HIOP rats than in the LICP rats (P<0.05). Besides, we detected reduced retinal tight junction protein expressions, accompanied by specific imbalance patterns of T lymphocytes in the retina of both LICP and HIOP rats (P<0.05). Further Mino treatment showed an effective inhibitory role in glia-driven inflammatory responses in LICP rats, including improving retrograde axonal transport, inhibiting retinal glial activation and proinflammatory subtype polarization, and alleviating the blood-retina barrier compromise. This study identified the glia-mediated retinal inflammation features triggered by LICP stimulus, and Mino application exhibited an effective role in the inhibition of retinal glia-mediated inflammation in LICP-induced TLCPD elevation rats.

Tianmin Ren

Beijing Institute of Ophthalmology,
Beijing Tongren Eye Center,
Beijing Tongren Hospital,
Beijing Institute of Ophthalmology, Beijing Tongren Eye Center, Beijing Tongren Hospital

Capital Medical University, Beijing Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences Key Laboratory

Longitudinal In Vivo Imaging of Retinal Cells with Tailored Adeno-Associated Virus Serotypes via Confocal Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscopy

Tianmin Ren

Beijing Institute of Ophthalmology,Beijing Tongren Eye Center,Beijing Tongren Hospital,Beijing Institute of Ophthalmology, Beijing Tongren Eye Center, Beijing Tongren Hospital

Capital Medical University, Beijing Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences Key Laboratory

Longitudinal In Vivo Imaging of Retinal Cells with Tailored Adeno-Associated Virus Serotypes via Confocal Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscopy

Beijing Institute of Ophthalmology,
Beijing Tongren Eye Center,
Beijing Tongren Hospital,
Beijing Institute of Ophthalmology, Beijing Tongren Eye Center, Beijing Tongren Hospital