Abstract
Purpose :
To determine the effect of intravitreal administration of phosphate buffer saline (PBS) on retinal revascularization and neovascularization in the mouse oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) model. In addition, aflibercept (Eylea) treated eyes were used as reference control.
Methods :
C57BL/6 mice were exposed to 75% oxygen for 5 days and at P12 the mice were returned to normal room air. At P14 the mice were injected intraocularly with 0.5 μl aflibercept (Eylea, n=10) or PBS (n=9). Non-treated weight matched littermates (n=9 retinas) were also included in the study. At P17 retinal revascularization and neovascularization (pre-retinal tufts) were analyzed from Isolectin B4 stained retinal flat mounts using confocal microscopy and Adope Photoshop CC software.
Results :
The PBS-injected eyes had significantly decreased avascular area as compared to uninjected controls (11.22±2.33 vs. 16.87±3.03 % from total retinal area, Mann-Whitney U test, P<0.0001). Intravitreal injection of aflibercept significantly increased retinal avascular area as compared to uninjected control or PBS-injected eyes (Mann-Whitney U test, P<0.001). Intravitreal injection of PBS significantly decreased neovascularization as compared to uninjected control eyes (3.67±2.3 vs 8.9±2.1 % of total retinal area, Mann-Whitney U test, P<0.001). Intravitreal injection of aflibercept significantly reduced neovascular area as compared to uninjected control and PBS-injected eyes (Mann-Whitney U test, P<0.001, for both).
Conclusions :
Intravitreal injection of PBS alone reduces retinal neovascularization in the mouse OIR model.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2016 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, Wash., May 1-5, 2016.