Preparation and Analysis of Histological Slides of Rat and Mouse Eyeballs to Evaluate the Retina

Summary

This manuscript presents a protocol for the histological preparation of slides from rodent eyeballs. With the proposed method, the inner retina can be easily visualized and assessed under a light microscope. The procedure is presented for the eyeballs of mice and rats.

Abstract

A rodent eyeball is a powerful tool for researching the pathomechanisms of many ophthalmic diseases, such as glaucoma, hypertensive retinopathy, and many more. Preclinical experiments enable researchers to examine the efficacy of novel drugs, develop new methods of treatment, or seek new pathomechanisms involved in the disease's onset or progression. A histological examination provides a lot of information necessary to assess the effects of the conducted experiments and can reveal degeneration, tissue remodeling, infiltration, and many other pathologies. In clinical research, there is rarely any chance of obtaining eye tissue suitable for a histological examination, which is why researchers should take advantage of the opportunity offered by the examination of eyeballs from rodents. This manuscript presents a protocol for the histological preparation of rodent eyeballs' sections. The procedure is presented for the eyeballs of mice and rats and has the following steps: (i) harvesting the eyeball, (ii) preserving the eyeball for further analysis, (iii) processing the tissue in paraffin, (iv) preparing slides, (v) staining with hematoxylin and eosin, (vi) assessing the tissue under a light microscope. With the proposed method, the retina can be easily visualized and assessed in detail.

Introduction

The eyeball is a globe-like structure constituting the organ of sight. The inside of the eyeball can be divided into two segments: the anterior segment, which includes the cornea, iris, ciliary body, lens, anterior chamber, and posterior chamber, and the posterior segment, which includes the vitreous body, retina, choroid, sclera, optic nerve head. The anterior chamber is located between the cornea and the iris^1,2. The iris is a circular structure with an opening in the center called the pupil. At the junction of the cornea and the iris, there is the drainage angle, where a specialized system of trabeculae dra....

Protocol

The research was performed in compliance with institutional guidelines. Eyeballs used in this study were obtained from animals included in an experiment conducted based on the study approval number WAW2/122/2020 issued by the 2^nd Local Ethics Committee at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences in Warsaw, Poland. Our protocol was developed by examining mice aged 11 and 44 weeks and rats aged 6, 12, and 16 weeks.

1. Preparation of mouse eyeballs

Discussion

A histological examination of the mouse and rat eyeball is a powerful tool in the field of experimental ophthalmology. It can provide new information related to changes in the ocular structures in the course of ophthalmic diseases, which would otherwise not be observed in clinical settings. The described protocols present a simple method of conducting a histological analysis of the retina. The subtleties of the procedure needed to process anterior tissues, such as the cornea, are not described here.

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Acetone	Chempur	111024800
Dumont Tweezers #5, 11cm, 0.05 x 0.01mm Tips	World Precision Instruments	14095	small, microsurgical forceps
Eosin	Mar-Four	4P.05.2001/L	Aqueous solution
Ethyl alcohol 96 %	Chempur	CH.ET.AL.96%CZDA.CH
Ethyl alcohol 99.9 %	Chempur	CH.ETYL.ALK.99,9%BW	Use to prepare 70% and 80% solutions of EtOH
Glacier - 86 °C Ultralow Temperature Freezer NU-9483E	NuAire	13027D0034	Freezing temperature - 80 °C
Glass slides	Mar-Four	MI.15.01673	Ground glass slides with a double-sided matte field for description
Leica CV5030 Fully Automated Glass Coverslipper	Leica Biosystems	14,04,78,80,101	Automated slide sealer
Mayer's hematoxylin	Chempur	124687402
Metal base molds 15 mm  x 15 mm	Leica Biosystems	3803081
Microme HM 340 E	Thermo Scientific	90-519-0	Microtome
Microtome razor blades	Mar-Four	HI.N.35	Cutting angle 35°
Micro-Twin biopsy cassette	Mar-Four	LN.13874550
Microwave Hybrid Tissue Processor	Milestone
Multistainer Leica ST5020	Leica Biosystems		Automated slide stainer
NanoZoomer 2.0-HT slide scanner	Hamamatsu	C9600	Histopathological slide scanner
NDP.view2 Image viewing software	Hamamatsu	U12388-01	Image viewing software
Paraffin Pathowax Plus	Mar-Four	4P.PWP.010	Melting temperature 56 °C - 58 °C
Paraformaldehyde	Sigma - Aldrich	441244-1KG	Prepare a 4% solution in PBS
PBS Tablets	Merck Millipore	524650-1EA	Use to prepare a solution of phosphate buffer saline, per manufacturer's instructions
Pierce Microcentrifuge Tubes, 1.5 mL	Thermo Scientific	69715
Refrigerator-freezer EN14000AW	Electrolux	925032562-00	refrigeration 4 °C
Scalpel blade	Swann-Morton	T.OST.SKAL00.024
Sucrose	Chempur	427720906
SuperCut Spring Scissors, 12.5cm, Curved	World Precision Instruments	501925	curved, small microsurgical scissors
Tape for automatic sealers	Mar-Four	KP-3020/SMRH001
Xylene	Chempur	CH.KSYL.5l.METAL.OP