Rho-kinase expression in human ocular fibrotic membranes

Abstract

Purpose : Purpose: Proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) is still the most common cause of failure after retinal reattachment surgery due to secondary growth and contraction of cellular membranes within the hyaloid and retina. The epiretinal membrane is a thin sheet of fibrous tissue that develops on the macula. The treatment of choice to date is either surveillance when no retinal detachment has yet occurred or vitreoretinal surgery and removal of those PVR membranes to prevent or treat further complications, such as recurrent retinal detachment. Identification of factors that may interfere with the formation and regulation of PVR membranes could facilitate the development of novel therapeutics. Various groups have shown that the ROCK pathway is involved in PVR pathogenesis; however, the presence of rho-kinase in human PVR membranes has not yet been demonstrated. To compare the ROCK-signaling in two different types of human ocular fibrotic membranes, we aim to study in addition the ROCK pathway in human ERM.

Methods : Methods: Membranes were obtained in the course of vitreoretinal surgery from 6 patient eyes with proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) and 12 eyes with epiretinal membranes (ERM). To show that the Rho/ROCK signalling pathway is involved in these vitreoretinal diseases, immunohistochemistry staining for hematoxylin and eosin, collagen-1, alpha-smooth muscle actin (a-SMA) and Rho-kinase isoforms (ROCK1 and ROCK2) of surgically excised human PVR and ERM membranes were performed. In addition, the human ocular fibrotic membranes were analysed with rtPCR to screen for the Rho-kinase related gene expression levels, expression differences and RNA content.

Results : Results: Different fibrotic markers, such as collagen 1 and a-SMA were detected together with ROCK1 and ROCK2 in PVR and ERM membranes.

Conclusions : Conclusions: The current results indicate that Rho-kinase is expressed in human ocular fibrotic membranes, such as PVR and ERM, and might play a role in its formation.

This abstract was presented at the 2022 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Denver, CO, May 1-4, 2022, and virtually.

 

Rho-kinase expression in human ocular fibrotic membranes.