Rat model for anterior segment intraocular surgery induced blood-retinal barrier breakdown.
OBJECTIVE
To develop a practical rat model of blood-retinal barrier (BRB) breakdown induced by anterior segment intraocular surgery.


METHODS
A 27-gauge needle attached to infusion tubing running to a bottle of balanced salt solution was inserted through the limbus into the rat anterior chamber. The pressure of the balanced salt solution was oscillated from 0 to 12 mm Hg above the atmospheric pressure for 30 times. The needle was removed and the anterior chamber was formed. Then the eye was exposed vertically to the light of the operating microscope. The contralateral eye was left untreated. The eyes were applied with ofloxacin ophthalmic solution after surgery. At several time points after surgery, the integrity of the BRB was assessed by fluorescence fundus angiography, optical coherence tomography, immunohistochemical staining for serum albumin and quantitative measurement using Evans blue as a tracer.


RESULTS
The extravasation of fluorescein, the increased central retinal thickness, strong staining for albumin in the retina and substantially elevated retinal Evans blue leakage demonstrated BRB breakdown after anterior segment intraocular surgery. On the 1st day after surgery, the model group showed a statistically significant elevation in the retinal Evans blue leakage as compared to the contralateral control group and the normal control group. These increased and reached the peak on the 2nd day after surgery and decreased to the point that there was no significant difference as compared to the contralateral control group and the normal control group on the 7th day after surgery.


CONCLUSIONS
This study establishes a practical rat model of BRB breakdown induced by anterior segment intraocular surgery.
Xie
Mao-Song
MS
Department of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, Shandong University, Shandong, China.
Xu
Guo-Xing
GX
Huang
Yan
Y
D000818:Animals; D000869:Anterior Eye Segment / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D001813:Blood-Retinal Barrier / Q000502:physiology*; D002463:Cell Membrane Permeability / Q000502:physiology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D005070:Evans Blue; D005119:Extravasation of Diagnostic and Therapeutic Materials / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D005451:Fluorescein Angiography; D006874:Hydrostatic Pressure; D008269:Macular Edema / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008866:Microsurgery; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000378:metabolism; D007507:Therapeutic Irrigation; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence
D012709:Serum Albumin; D005070:Evans Blue