Abstract
Purpose :
A phase-III study (CAT-152 0102 Trabeculectomy Study Group; Ophthalmology, 2007) of a subconjunctival two-time injection of transforming growth factor-β2 (TGF-β2) antibody failed to find any significant effects on preventing the progression of fibrosis after trabeculectomy. In this present study, we investigated the effect of a controlled release of TGF-β antibody in a canine model of glaucoma filtration surgery using gelatin hydrogel (GH).
Methods :
Glaucoma surgery models were made in 10 beagles according to our previous report (Kojima et al.; IOVS, 2011), and the eyes being divided into the following three groups: 1) subconjunctival implantation of TGF-β antibody-loaded GH (GH-group eyes, n=7), 2) subconjunctival implantation of GH alone (Control-group eyes, n=7), and 3) subconjunctival injection of TGF-β antibody (Injection-group eyes, n=6). Intraocular pressure (IOP) and bleb features were then assessed in each eye at 2-weeks and 4-weeks postoperative, followed by histological evaluation.
Results :
No significant decrease in IOP was found in the Injection-group eyes, but IOP was significantly reduced at 4-weeks postoperative in the other two groups (p<0.05) and IOP in the GH-group eyes was significantly lower compared with Control-group eyes. In the Injection-group eyes, the bleb score at 4-weeks postoperative was significantly lower than the other two groups. The numbers of fibroblasts, proliferative-cell nuclear antigen-positive cells, mast cells, and TGF-β antibody-positive cells were significantly lower in the GH groups than in the control group.
Conclusions :
The findings in this study suggest that compared with subconjunctival injection, implantation of TGF-β antibody-loaded GH maintains IOP reduction and bleb formation by suppressing conjunctival scarring due to proliferation of fibroblasts for a longer time via a sustained release of TGF-β antibody from GH.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2016 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, Wash., May 1-5, 2016.