Michael B Powner1, Dawn A Sim2, Meidong Zhu3, João Nobre-Cardoso4, Ryan Jones5, Adil Syed6, Andrew A Chang6, Pearse A Keane2, Adnan Tufail2, Catherine A Egan2, Marcus Fruttiger5. 1. UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London, United Kingdom 2Division of Optometry and Visual Science, School of Health Sciences, City University London, London, United Kingdom. 2. UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London, United Kingdom 3Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, United Kingdom. 3. Save Sight Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia 5Lions New South Wales Eye Bank, Sydney and Sydney Eye Hospital, Sydney, Australia. 4. Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, United Kingdom. 5. UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London, United Kingdom. 6. Save Sight Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia 6Sydney Institute of Vision Science, Sydney, Australia.
Abstract
PURPOSE: Retinal ischemia has been traditionally assessed by fluorescein angiography, visualizing perfused vessels. However, this method does not provide any information about nonperfused vessels, and although it is often assumed that vessels in ischemic areas regress, we know little about how nonperfused retinal vessels change over time. Here, we aim to learn more about the long-term fate of nonperfused vessels in the retinal vasculature. METHODS: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) was used to visualize perfusion as well as structural properties of the retinal vasculature in patients suffering from retinal vascular occlusions. In addition, postmortem tissue from a patient with long standing (6 years) central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) was investigated, using immunohistochemistry on whole-mount retina and paraffin sections to visualize blood vessel components. RESULTS: Comparing OCT angiography with enface OCT images revealed that in ischemic areas of the retina, nonperfused, larger vessels could be detected as hyperreflective structures in enface OCT images. Furthermore, analysis of a postmortem tissue sample from a CRVO patient with a large nonperfused region in the macula, revealed preservation of the basement membrane from all retinal vessels, including nonperfused, acellular vessels of all calibers. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggests long-term preservation of vascular basement membrane in ischemic retina. This has implications for therapeutic approaches aiming to alleviate retinal ischemia via the regeneration of damaged vessels.
PURPOSE: Retinal ischemia has been traditionally assessed by fluorescein angiography, visualizing perfused vessels. However, this method does not provide any information about nonperfused vessels, and although it is often assumed that vessels in ischemic areas regress, we know little about how nonperfused retinal vessels change over time. Here, we aim to learn more about the long-term fate of nonperfused vessels in the retinal vasculature. METHODS: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) was used to visualize perfusion as well as structural properties of the retinal vasculature in patients suffering from retinal vascular occlusions. In addition, postmortem tissue from a patient with long standing (6 years) central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) was investigated, using immunohistochemistry on whole-mount retina and paraffin sections to visualize blood vessel components. RESULTS: Comparing OCT angiography with enface OCT images revealed that in ischemic areas of the retina, nonperfused, larger vessels could be detected as hyperreflective structures in enface OCT images. Furthermore, analysis of a postmortem tissue sample from a CRVO patient with a large nonperfused region in the macula, revealed preservation of the basement membrane from all retinal vessels, including nonperfused, acellular vessels of all calibers. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggests long-term preservation of vascular basement membrane in ischemic retina. This has implications for therapeutic approaches aiming to alleviate retinal ischemia via the regeneration of damaged vessels.
Authors: Malvika Arya; Marco Bonini Filho; Carl B Rebhun; Eric M Moult; Byungkung Lee; Yasin Alibhai; Andre J Witkin; Caroline R Baumal; Jay S Duker; James G Fujimoto; Nadia K Waheed Journal: Ophthalmol Retina Date: 2020-06-22
Authors: Cecilia S Lee; Ariel J Tyring; Yue Wu; Sa Xiao; Ariel S Rokem; Nicolaas P DeRuyter; Qinqin Zhang; Adnan Tufail; Ruikang K Wang; Aaron Y Lee Journal: Sci Rep Date: 2019-04-05 Impact factor: 4.379
Authors: Akiyoshi Uemura; Marcus Fruttiger; Patricia A D'Amore; Sandro De Falco; Antonia M Joussen; Florian Sennlaub; Lynne R Brunck; Kristian T Johnson; George N Lambrou; Kay D Rittenhouse; Thomas Langmann Journal: Prog Retin Eye Res Date: 2021-02-25 Impact factor: 21.198