scholarly journals Dynamic OCT Signal Loss for Determining RPE Radiant Exposure Damage Thresholds in Microsecond Laser Microsurgery

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 5535
Author(s):  
Christian Burri ◽  
Alessa Hutfilz ◽  
Lorenz Grimm ◽  
Simon Salzmann ◽  
Patrik Arnold ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Cell Damage ◽  
Pigment Epithelium ◽  
Retinal Pigment ◽  
Laser Pulses ◽  
Laser Microsurgery ◽  
Central Wavelength ◽  
Radiant Exposure ◽  
Wide Range

Optical microsurgery of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) requires reliable real-time dosimetry to prevent unwanted overexposure of the neuroretina. The system used in this experiment implements optical coherence tomography (OCT) to detect the intentional elimination of RPE cells. We evaluated the performance of OCT dosimetry in terms of its ability to detect RPE cell damage caused by microsecond laser pulses of varying duration. Therefore, ex-vivo porcine RPE choroid sclera explants were embedded in an artificial eye and exposed to single laser pulses of 2–20 µs duration (wavelength: 532 nm, exposure area: 120 × 120 µm2, intensity modulation factor: 1.3). Simultaneously, time-resolved OCT M-scans were recorded (central wavelength: 870 nm, scan rate: 33 kHz). Post-irradiation, RPE cell damage was quantified using a calcein-AM viability assay and compared with an OCT-dosimetry algorithm. The results of our experiments show that the OCT-based analysis successfully predicts RPE cell damage. At its optimal operating point, the algorithm achieved a sensitivity of 89% and specificity of 94% for pulses of 6 µs duration and demonstrated the ability to precisely control radiant exposure of a wide range of pulse durations towards selective real-time laser microsurgery.

scholarly journals Ocular Toxoplasmosis: Mechanisms of Retinal Infection and Experimental Models

Parasitologia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 50-60
Author(s):  
Veronica Rodriguez Fernandez ◽  
Giovanni Casini ◽  
Fabrizio Bruschi
Keyword(s):  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Cell Damage ◽  
Pigment Epithelium ◽  
Retinal Pigment ◽  
Treatment Strategies ◽  
Experimental Models ◽  
Ocular Toxoplasmosis ◽  
Cell Infection

Ocular toxoplasmosis (OT) is caused by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii and affects many individuals throughout the world. Infection may occur through congenital or acquired routes. The parasites enter the blood circulation and reach both the retina and the retinal pigment epithelium, where they may cause cell damage and cell death. Different routes of access are used by T. gondii to reach the retina through the retinal endothelium: by transmission inside leukocytes, as free parasites through a paracellular route, or after endothelial cell infection. A main feature of OT is the induction of an important inflammatory state, and the course of infection has been shown to be influenced by the host immunogenetics. On the other hand, there is evidence that the T. gondii phenotype also has an impact on the distribution of the pathology in different areas. Although considerable knowledge has been acquired on OT, a deeper knowledge of its mechanisms is necessary to provide new, more targeted treatment strategies. In particular, in addition to in vitro and in vivo experimental models, organotypic, ex vivo retinal explants may be useful in this direction.

Non-random spatial arrangement of clone sizes in chimaeric retinal pigment epithelium

Development ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 91 (1) ◽  
pp. 197-208
Author(s):  
Günter H. Schmidt ◽  
Maureen M. Wilkinson ◽  
Bruce A. J. Ponder
Keyword(s):  
Retinal Pigment Epithelium ◽  
Patch Size ◽  
Pigment Epithelium ◽  
Retinal Pigment ◽  
Spatial Arrangement ◽  
Tissue Growth ◽  
Geometric Means ◽  
Frequency Distributions ◽  
Size Frequency ◽  
Wide Range

Clonal analysis of whole-mount preparations of entire retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), using SWR ↔ C57BL/6JLac and DDK ↔ C3H/Bi mouse aggregation chimaeras in which one of the two parental components predominated, revealed a markedly non-random spatial arrangement of patch (clone) sizes. Single-cell and small patches predominated in an area around the optic nerve head while large patches occurred most frequently near the periphery. Mechanisms are discussed which may explain these results. Patch size frequency distributions were concave and skewed. Singletons were the most frequent size class, but a wide range of sizes and a smaller number of much larger patches were also always found. The results preclude the use of statistical methods previously employed to calculate clone sizes from the geometric means of observed patch sizes. Instead, the median and interquartile range may provide the best summary of the observed patch size frequency distributions. Our findings support a stochastic model of tissue growth.

scholarly journals Lactobacillus paracasei KW3110 Suppresses Inflammatory Stress-Induced Premature Cellular Senescence of Human Retinal Pigment Epithelium Cells and Reduces Ocular Disorders in Healthy Humans

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (14) ◽  
pp. 5091
Author(s):  
Takahiro Yamazaki ◽  
Hiroaki Suzuki ◽  
Sayuri Yamada ◽  
Konomi Ohshio ◽  
Miho Sugamata ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Retinal Pigment Epithelium ◽  
Tight Junction ◽  
Cell Damage ◽  
Pigment Epithelium ◽  
Retinal Pigment ◽  
Lactobacillus Paracasei ◽  
Inflammatory Stress ◽  
Healthy Humans ◽  
Eye Fatigue ◽  
Ocular Disorders

Lactobacillus paracasei KW3110 (KW3110) has anti-inflammatory effects and mitigates retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cell damage caused by blue-light exposure. We investigated whether KW3110 suppresses chronic inflammatory stress-induced RPE cell damage by modulating immune cell activity and whether it improves ocular disorders in healthy humans. First, we showed that KW3110 treatment of mouse macrophages (J774A.1) produced significantly higher levels of interleukin-10 as compared with other lactic acid bacterium strains (all p < 0.01). Transferring supernatant from KW3110- and E. coli 0111:B4 strain and adenosine 5′-triphosphate (LPS/ATP)-stimulated J774A.1 cells to human retinal pigment epithelium (ARPE-19) cells suppressed senescence-associated phenotypes, including proliferation arrest, abnormal appearance, cell cycle arrest, and upregulation of cytokines, and also suppressed expression of tight junction molecule claudin-1. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel-group study of healthy subjects (n = 88; 35 to below 50 years) ingesting placebo or KW3110-containing supplements for 8 weeks showed that changes in critical flicker frequency, an indicator of eye fatigue, from the week-0 value were significantly larger in the KW3110 group at weeks 4 (p = 0.040) and 8 (p = 0.036). These results suggest that KW3110 protects ARPE-19 cells against premature senescence and aberrant expression of tight junction molecules caused by chronic inflammatory stress, and may improve chronic eye disorders including eye fatigue.

scholarly journals Reduction of lipid accumulation rescues Bietti’s crystalline dystrophy phenotypes

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (15) ◽  
pp. 3936-3941 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masayuki Hata ◽  
Hanako O. Ikeda ◽  
Sachiko Iwai ◽  
Yuto Iida ◽  
Norimoto Gotoh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Free Cholesterol ◽  
Cell Damage ◽  
Pigment Epithelium ◽  
Retinal Pigment ◽  
Patient Specific ◽  
Rpe Cells ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Induced Pluripotent ◽  
Bietti's Crystalline Dystrophy

Bietti’s crystalline dystrophy (BCD) is an intractable and progressive chorioretinal degenerative disease caused by mutations in the CYP4V2 gene, resulting in blindness in most patients. Although we and others have shown that retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells are primarily impaired in patients with BCD, the underlying mechanisms of RPE cell damage are still unclear because we lack access to appropriate disease models and to lesion-affected cells from patients with BCD. Here, we generated human RPE cells from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived from patients with BCD carrying a CYP4V2 mutation and successfully established an in vitro model of BCD, i.e., BCD patient-specific iPSC-RPE cells. In this model, RPE cells showed degenerative changes of vacuolated cytoplasm similar to those in postmortem specimens from patients with BCD. BCD iPSC-RPE cells exhibited lysosomal dysfunction and impairment of autophagy flux, followed by cell death. Lipidomic analyses revealed the accumulation of glucosylceramide and free cholesterol in BCD-affected cells. Notably, we found that reducing free cholesterol by cyclodextrins or δ-tocopherol in RPE cells rescued BCD phenotypes, whereas glucosylceramide reduction did not affect the BCD phenotype. Our data provide evidence that reducing intracellular free cholesterol may have therapeutic efficacy in patients with BCD.

scholarly journals Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells Express a Functional Receptor for Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1)

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandra Puddu ◽  
Roberta Sanguineti ◽  
Fabrizio Montecucco ◽  
Giorgio L. Viviani
Keyword(s):  
Protein Kinase ◽  
Biological Effects ◽  
Pigment Epithelium ◽  
Retinal Pigment ◽  
Growth Factor Receptor ◽  
Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells ◽  
Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Glucagon Like Peptide ◽  
Glucagon Like Peptide 1

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is a gut-derived incretin hormone that has been shown to improve glucose homeostasis in type 2 diabetes. The biological effects of GLP-1 are mediated by its specific receptor GLP-1R that is expressed in a wide range of tissues, where it is responsible of the extra-pancreatic effects of GLP-1. Since the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), that forms the outer retinal barrier, has a key role in protecting from diabetic retinopathy (DR), we investigated the potential expression and function of GLP-1R in a RPE cell line. ARPE-19 cells were cultured in DMEM/F12 supplemented with 10% FBS. The expression of GLP-1R was evaluated at both mRNA and protein levels. Then, the activation postreceptor intracellular signal transduction pathways (extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 [ERK1/2] and protein kinase B [PKB]) were assessed by western blot in normal cells or silenced for GLP-1R in the presence or absence of 10 nmol/L GLP-1. The potential connections between intracellular signalling pathways triggered by GLP-1 stimulation were performed before incubating cells with kinase pharmacological inhibitors of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MEK)1/2, phosphatydilinositol-3kinase (PI3K), or epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). The results showed that GLP1R is expressed at both mRNA and protein level in ARPE-19 cells. Stimulation with GLP-1 strongly activated PKB and ERK1/2 phosphorylation till 40 min of exposure. GLP-1-mediated activation of both kinases was dependent on the upstream activation of PI3K and EGFR. Finally, treatment with GLP-1 did not affect the spontaneous release of VEGF-A from ARPE-19 cells. In conclusion, this paper showed that the presence of functional GLP-1R is expressed in RPE cells. These data might represent the rationale to further investigate the potential direct beneficial effects of GLP-1 treatment against DR.

scholarly journals Ex-vivo models of the Retinal Pigment Epithelium (RPE) in long-term culture faithfully recapitulate key structural and physiological features of native RPE

2017 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 447-460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Savannah A. Lynn ◽  
Gareth Ward ◽  
Eloise Keeling ◽  
Jenny A. Scott ◽  
Angela J. Cree ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Retinal Pigment Epithelium ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Pigment Epithelium ◽  
Retinal Pigment ◽  
Long Term Culture

scholarly journals Non-photopic and photopic visual cycles differentially regulate immediate, early and late-phases of cone photoreceptor-mediated vision

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Ward ◽  
Joanna J. Kaylor ◽  
Diego F. Cobice ◽  
Dionissia A. Pepe ◽  
Eoghan M. McGarrigle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pigment Epithelium ◽  
Retinal Pigment ◽  
Bright Light ◽  
Immediate Early ◽  
Light Conditions ◽  
Photopic Vision ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Dihydroceramide Desaturase ◽  
Cone Photopigments ◽  
Dihydroceramide Desaturase 1

AbstractCone photoreceptors in the retina enable vision over a wide range of light intensities. However, the processes enabling cone vision in bright light (i.e. photopic vision) are not adequately understood. Chromophore regeneration of cone photopigments may require the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and/or retinal Müller glia. In the RPE, isomerization of all-trans-retinyl esters (atRE) to 11-cis-retinol (11cROL) is mediated by the retinoid isomerohydrolase Rpe65. An alternative retinoid isomerase, dihydroceramide desaturase-1 (DES1), is expressed in RPE and Müller cells. The retinol-isomerase activities of Rpe65 and Des1 are inhibited by emixustat and fenretinide, respectively. Here, we tested the effects of these visual cycle inhibitors on immediate, early and late phases of cone photopic vision. In zebrafish larvae raised under cyclic light conditions, fenretinide impaired late cone photopic vision, whereas emixustat-treated zebrafish unexpectedly had normal vision. In contrast, emixustat-treated larvae raised under extensive dark-adaption displayed significantly attenuated immediate photopic vision concomitantly with significantly reduced 11-cis-retinaldehyde (11cRAL). Following 30 minutes of light, early photopic vision recovered, despite 11cRAL levels remaining significantly reduced. Defects in immediate cone photopic vision were rescued in emixustat- or fenretinide-treated larvae following exogenous 9-cis-retinaldehyde (9cRAL) supplementation. Genetic knockout of degs1 or retinaldehyde-binding protein 1b (rlbp1b) revealed that neither are required for photopic vision in zebrafish. Our findings define the molecular and temporal requirements of the non-photopic and photopic visual cycles for mediating vision in bright light.

scholarly journals Monocarboxylate Transporter 1 (MCT1) mediates succinate export in the retina

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Celia M Bisbach ◽  
Daniel T Hass ◽  
James B Hurley
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membranes ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Pigment Epithelium ◽  
Retinal Pigment ◽  
Monocarboxylate Transporter ◽  
Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Monocarboxylate Transporter 1 ◽  
Retinal Tissue ◽  
Ex Vivo Culture

Purpose: Succinate is exported by the retina and imported by eyecup tissue. The transporter(s) mediating this process have not yet been identified. Recent studies showed that Monocarboxylate Transporter 1 (MCT1) can transport succinate across plasma membranes in cardiac and skeletal muscle. Retina and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) both express multiple MCT isoforms including MCT1. We tested the hypothesis that MCTs facilitate retinal succinate export and RPE succinate import. Methods: We assessed retinal succinate export and eyecup succinate import in short term ex vivo culture using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. We test the dependence of succinate export and import on pH, proton ionophores, conventional MCT substrates, and the MCT inhibitors AZD3965, AR-C155858, and diclofenac. Results: Succinate exits retinal tissue through MCT1 but does not enter RPE through MCT1 or any other MCT. Intracellular succinate levels are a contributing factor that determines if an MCT1-expressing tissue will export succinate. Conclusions: MCT1 facilitates export of succinate from retinas. An unidentified, non-MCT transporter facilitates import of succinate into RPE.

scholarly journals Iron is neurotoxic in retinal detachment and transferrin confers neuroprotection

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. eaau9940 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandra Daruich ◽  
Quentin Le Rouzic ◽  
Laurent Jonet ◽  
Marie-Christine Naud ◽  
Laura Kowalczuk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Retinal Detachment ◽  
Vision Loss ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Pigment Epithelium ◽  
Retinal Pigment ◽  
Subretinal Fluid ◽  
Predictive Marker ◽  
Visual Recovery ◽  
Neuroprotective Effects

In retinal detachment (RD), photoreceptor death and permanent vision loss are caused by neurosensory retina separating from the retinal pigment epithelium because of subretinal fluid (SRF), and successful surgical reattachment is not predictive of total visual recovery. As retinal iron overload exacerbates cell death in retinal diseases, we assessed iron as a predictive marker and therapeutic target for RD. In the vitreous and SRF from patients with RD, we measured increased iron and transferrin (TF) saturation that is correlated with poor visual recovery. In ex vivo and in vivo RD models, iron induces immediate necrosis and delayed apoptosis. We demonstrate that TF decreases both apoptosis and necroptosis induced by RD, and using RNA sequencing, pathways mediating the neuroprotective effects of TF are identified. Since toxic iron accumulates in RD, we propose TF supplementation as an adjunctive therapy to surgery for improving the visual outcomes of patients with RD.

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