Vet World Vol.17 February-2024 Article-29
Research Article
Veterinary World, 17(2): 500-508
https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2024.500-508
Early detection of optic nerve head changes using optical coherence tomography after using mesenchymal stromal cells as intravitreal therapy in rabbit models of ocular hypertension
2. Neuroscience (NEUROS) Research Group, Neurovitae Research Center, Institute of Translational Medicine (IMT), School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia.
3. Higher School of Ophthalmology- -Instituto Barraquer de América, Bogotá, Colombia.
4. Advanced Therapies Unit, Instituto Distrital de Ciencia Biotecnología e Innovación en Salud-IDCBIS, Bogotá, Colombia.
5. Center for Autoimmune Diseases Research (CREA), School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia.
Background and Aim: Stem cell therapy is considered a promising treatment for several neurodegenerative diseases. However, there are very few studies on the use of this therapy in glaucoma models. By detecting the changes produced by glaucoma early, cell therapy could help prevent the events that lead to blindness. In this study, early changes in the optic nerve head (ONH) as detected by optical coherence tomography (OCT) after the application of human Wharton’s jelly-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (hWJ-MSCs) in an experimental model of ocular hypertension (OH) were evaluated.
Materials and Methods: Fifteen New Zealand rabbits were randomly divided into the following three groups: G1: OH, G2: hWJ-MSCs, and G3: OH + hWJ-MSCs. An OH model was constructed, and the intraocular pressure (IOP) was measured regularly. At week 7, 105/100 μL hWJ-MSCs were intravitreally injected. Retinography and OCT were used to evaluate structural changes in ONH.
Results: IOP increased significantly in G1 and G3 from week 3 onward. Retinography revealed more significant optic nerve changes, that is, papillary asymmetry suggestive of optic nerve excavation, vascular alterations, and irregular hypopigmentation peripheral to the optic disk margin, in G1 compared with G3. OH locates the hWJ-MSCs solution in the vitreous in front of the optic nerve. OCT revealed retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) reduction in all groups, reduced optic cup volume in G2 and G3 between weeks 1 and 9, and significant ganglion cell layer thickness reduction in G1 and a slight increase in G3.
Conclusion: Intravitreal hWJ-MSCs injection produced changes in optic cup volume, which were detected early on by OCT; however, RNFL could not be restored in this OH model. Keywords: glaucoma, mesenchymal stromal cell, ocular hypertension, optic nerve head, optical coherence tomography, rabbit.
Keywords: glaucoma, mesenchymal stromal cell, ocular hypertension, optic nerve head, optical coherence tomography, rabbit.
How to cite this article: Evangelho KS, Cifuentes-González C, Rojas-Carabali W, Vivero-Arciniegas CD, Cañas-Arboleda M, Salguero G, Ramírez-Santana C, and de-la-Torre A (2024) Early detection of optic nerve head changes using optical coherence tomography after using mesenchymal stromal cells as intravitreal therapy in rabbit models of ocular hypertension, Veterinary World, 17(2): 500–508.
Received: 18-09-2023 Accepted: 30-01-2024 Published online: 29-02-2024
Corresponding author: Alejandra de-la-Torre E-mail: alejadelatorre@yahoo.com
DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2024.500-508
Copyright: Evangelho, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.