A Rat Dry Eye Model with Lacrimal Gland Dysfunction Induced by Scopolamine

Summary

Here, we establish a rat model of lacrimal gland dysfunction to provide a basis for the study of aqueous-deficient dry eye.

Abstract

Aqueous-deficient dry eye (ADDE) is a type of dry eye disease that can result in the reduction of tear secretion quantity and quality. Prolonged abnormal tear production can lead to a disturbance in the ocular surface environment, including corneal damage and inflammation. In severe cases, ADDE can cause vision loss or even blindness. Currently, dry eye treatment is limited to eye drops or physical therapy, which can only alleviate eye discomfort symptoms and cannot fundamentally cure dry eye syndrome. To restore the function of the lacrimal gland in dry eye, we have created an animal model of lacrimal gland dysfunction in rats induced by scopolamine. Through the comprehensive evaluation of the lacrimal gland, corneas, conjunctivas, and other factors, we aim to provide a full understanding of the pathological changes of ADDE. Compared with the current dry eye mouse model, this ADDE animal model includes a functional evaluation of the lacrimal gland, providing a better platform for studying lacrimal gland dysfunction in ADDE.

Introduction

By 2021, approximately 12% of people are significantly affected by dry eyes¹, making it one of the most common chronic eye diseases. Dry eye can be divided into two types: aqueous-deficient dry eye (ADDE) and evaporative dry eye (EDE)², depending on the different factors that affect the disease. ADDE is further divided into Sjögren's syndrome (SS) and non-SS, but the majority of dry eye patients are non-SS patients in clinical³. Chronic dry eye symptoms seriously affect the visual quality of patients. Currently, the conventional treatment of DED involves the applicat....

Protocol

All animal experiments performed following this protocol are performed under the approval of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC).

1. Animal preparation

1. Prepare 12 healthy 6-week-old SPF Wistar female rats weighing 160 g ± 20 g.
2. Use a slit lamp and ophthalmoscope to examine the eye conditions of all rats, ensuring that there are no anterior segment or retinal diseases.
3. Raise all the rats for 1 week with sufficient food an.......

Discussion

Aqueous-deficient dry eye (ADDE) is an important type of dry eye, accounting for about 1/3 of the total dry eye population¹⁷, and the main cause of ADDE is lacrimal gland pathological damage and inflammation¹³. For this type of dry eye, the most common clinical treatment methods are artificial tears to alleviate symptoms or topical application of steroids or cyclosporine¹⁸, while there are few treatment options for damage to the lacrimal gland. There.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
0.9% sodium chloride solution	SJZ No.4 Pharmaceutical	H13023201
4% paraformaldehyde	Wuhan Servicebio Technology Co., Ltd	G1113
Absolute ethanol	Sinopharm Chemical Reagent Co., Ltd.	10009218
Fluorescein sodium ophthalmic strips	Tianjin Yinuoxinkang Medical Device Tech Co., Ltd	YN-YG-I
Hematoxylin and eosin	Nanjing Jiancheng Bioengineering Institute	D006
Neutral balsam	Beijing Solarbio Science & Technology Co., Ltd.	G8590
Paraffin	Beijing Solarbio Science & Technology Co., Ltd.	YA0012
Periodic Acid-Schiff Staining Kit	Beyotime Biotechnology	C0142S
Schirmer tear test strips	Tianjin Yinuoxinkang Medical Device Tech Co., Ltd	YN-LZ-I
Scopolamine hydrobromide	Shanghai Macklin Biochemical Co., Ltd	S860151
Small animal microscope	Head Biotechnology Co,. Ltd	ZM191
Xylene	Sinopharm Chemical Reagent Co., Ltd.	10023418