In vivo evaluation of retinal ganglion cells and optic nerve's integrity in large animals by multi-modality analysis.

In vivo evaluation of retinal ganglion cells and optic nerve's integrity in large animals by multi-modality analysis. Exp Eye Res. 2020 Jun 26;:108117 Authors: Zhang Y, Zhang S, Xia Y, Ji Y, Jiang W, Li M, Huang H, Xu M, Sun J, Ye Q, Hu Y, Wu W Abstract Large animal models of optic nerve injury are essential for translating novel findings into effective therapies due to their similarity to humans in many respects. However, most current tests evaluating the integrity of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and optic nerve (ON) are based on rodent animal models. We aimed to evaluate and optimize the in vivo methods to assess RGCs and ON's function and structure in large animals in terms of reproducibility, simplicity and sensitivity. Bothe goats and rhesus macaques were employed in this study. By using goats, we found anesthesia with isoflurane or xylazine resulted in different effects on reproducibility of flash visual evoked potential (FVEP) and pattern electroretinogram (PERG). FVEP with the large-Ganzfeld stimulator was significantly more stable than that with mini-Ganzfeld stimulator. PERG with simultaneous binocular stimulation, with superior simplicity over separate monocular stimulation, was appliable in goats due to undetectable interocular crosstalk of PERG signals. After ON crush in goats, some FVEP components, PERG, OCT and PLR demonstrated significant changes, in line with the histological study. By using rhesus macaque, we found...
Source: Experimental Eye Research - Category: Opthalmology Authors: Tags: Exp Eye Res Source Type: research