Prevention of filtering surgery failure by subconjunctival injection of a novel peptide hydrogel into rabbit eyes.
A novel biocompatible hydrogel was prepared based on the supramolecular self-assembly of a peptide containing a bioactive RGD (arginine-glycine-aspartic acid) sequence and a hydrophobic N-fluorenyl-9-methoxycarbonyl (FMOC) tail. When the self-assembled peptide hydrogel was administered after the filtering surgery of rabbit eyes, the level of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) mRNA as well as the mean intraocular pressure (IOP) was significantly lower than that of the control eyes during the 21 postoperative days. The filtration bleb and ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) images showed that a patent bleb and a filtration fistula could be found in the surgical site of a rabbit eye during the whole experimental period. Histological analysis further evidenced that the filtering surgical wound healing was a normal healing process without scar formation. This new approach, making use of a self-assembled peptide hydrogel to normalize filtering surgical wound healing, may have potential for glaucoma filtering surgery.
Liang
Liang
L
Department of Ophthalmology, The Central Hospital of Wuhan, Wuhan 430014, People's Republic of China. niuniu419519@163.com
Xu
Xiao-Ding
XD
Zhang
Xian-Zheng
XZ
Feng
Mei
M
Peng
Chong
C
Jiang
Fa-Gang
FG
D000818:Animals; D002921:Cicatrix / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003316:Corneal Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D018463:Filtering Surgery / Q000009:adverse effects*; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D056965:Injections, Intraocular; D008422:Materials Testing; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D011817:Rabbits; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000187:drug effects
D020100:Hydrogels; D009842:Oligopeptides; C047981:arginyl-glycyl-aspartic acid