Figure 4 - available via license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
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The structure of retinal tissue with H&E staining in every group of rabbits. (A) The structure of retinal tissue in the control healthy rabbits. (B) The structure of retinal tissue in glaucomatous rabbits without treatment. (C) The structure of retinal tissue in glaucomatous rabbits with HUMSC transplantation. (D) The structure of retinal tissue in glaucomatous rabbits with UTMD-assisted HUMSC transplantation. Scale bar, 20 μm. The thickness of retina (E) and cell number in the GCL (F) in different groups of rabbits. Data were presented as mean values ±SD (error bars). *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001.
Source publication
Purpose:
The purpose of this study was to explore the therapeutic effect of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell (HUMSC) transplantation alone or assisted with ultrasound targeted microbubble destruction (UTMD) on optic neuropathy in a novel and practical model of experimental glaucoma in rabbits.
Methods:
Eight New Zealand white healthy r...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... from rabbits and H&E staining was performed. Under light microscope, it was observed that compared with the control group, the retinal layers of glaucomatous rabbits were disorganized, and the RGCs were sparsely arranged. The inner layer cells were thinner and less clear, and the outer layer cells and photoreceptor cells were disorganized (Figs. 4A, 4B). However, after the therapy of HUMSC transplantation, the histology of retinal layers (in groups C and D) appeared to be normal and exhibited relatively dense and orderly RGCs in the ganglion cell layer (GCL). The inner plexus layer was thicker and showed obvious reticular structure with larger nuclei and darker staining. The outer ...
Context 2
... histology of retinal layers (in groups C and D) appeared to be normal and exhibited relatively dense and orderly RGCs in the ganglion cell layer (GCL). The inner plexus layer was thicker and showed obvious reticular structure with larger nuclei and darker staining. The outer nuclear layer and photoreceptor cells were closely and neatly arranged (Figs. 4C, 4D). The above observations demonstrate that HUMSC transplantation repairs the retinal structure injured by ...
Context 3
... number in the GCL and retinal thickness were examined and analyzed. As the results showed, the cell numbers in the GCL in the 4 groups were 302.50 ± 13.26, 189.67 ± 19.72, 245.25 ± 7.65, and 262.25 ± 8.18 /mm, respectively, and the corresponding retinal thickness were 121.63 ± 5.21, 76.23 ± 1.49, 83.13 ± 2.04, and 89.80 ± 1.51 μm, respectively (Figs. 4E, 4F). These results demonstrated that glaucoma led to a dramatic RGC loss and significant reduction of retinal thickness, whereas intravitreal injection of HUMSCs in rabbits could alleviate glaucoma-caused RGC loss and decrease of retinal thickness significantly, and moreover the combination of UTMD achieved a more efficient therapeutic ...
Citations
... Significant progress has been made since this goal was set a decade ago. It is likely that multiple technologies for restoring vision will be clinically applied within the next decade (Table 1) [6,[32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49] . ...
... Human-derived MSCs promoted sustained neuroprotection and regeneration of RGCs after optic nerve injury hUC-MSCs [45] UTMD enhanced target-specific gene delivery, thus improving the effect of therapy UTMD can remarkably enhance the therapeutic effect of hUC-MSCs hPMSCs [46] UBA2 played a key role in activating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway ...
Glaucoma is a common and complex neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive loss of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and axons. Currently, there is no effective method to address the cause of RGCs degeneration. However, studies on neuroprotective strategies for optic neuropathy have increased in recent years. Cell replacement and neuroprotection are major strategies for treating glaucoma and optic neuropathy. Regenerative medicine research into the repair of optic nerve damage using stem cells has received considerable attention. Stem cells possess the potential for multidirectional differentiation abilities and are capable of producing RGC-friendly microenvironments through paracrine effects. This article reviews a thorough researches of recent advances and approaches in stem cell repair of optic nerve injury, raising the controversies and unresolved issues surrounding the future of stem cells.
... Meanwhile, Madhoun et al. [48] found a 18.7% loss at 6 weeks, and Ribeiro et al. [49] reported a 67% loss at 3 weeks. Zhu et al. [50] found an 89% loss at 4 weeks in rabbits. These findings align with earlier research [7] and demonstrate wide variability in RGC and optic nerve injury resulting from IOP rise. ...
Introduction:
Animal models are widely used in glaucoma-related research. Since the elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) is a major risk factor underlying the disease pathogenesis, animal models with high IOP are commonly used. However, models are also used to represent the clinical context of glaucomatous changes developing despite a normal IOP.
Areas covered:
Herein, the authors discuss the various factors that contribute to the quality of studies using animal models based on the evaluation of studies published in 2022. The factors affecting the quality of studies using animal models, such as the animal species, age, and sex, are discussed, along with various methods and outcomes of studies involving different animal models of glaucoma.
Expert opinion:
Translating animal research data to clinical applications remains challenging. Our observations in this review clearly indicate that many studies lack scientific robustness not only in their experiment conduct but also in data analysis, interpretation, and presentation. In this context, ensuring the internal validity of animal studies is the first step in quality assurance. External validity, however, is more challenging, and steps should be taken to satisfy external validity at least to some extent.
... Following their clinical translation as ultrasound imaging contrast agents, MB formulations have been engineered as ultrasound-responsive carriers to promote and enhance the local delivery and uptake of a wide variety of drugs [8][9][10][11], genes [12][13][14], and cells [15][16][17][18][19][20] for various therapeutic applications. Many of these applications include the delivery of therapeutic agents to treat the brain [19][20][21][22][23], heart [15,[24][25][26], and cancer [27][28][29]. ...
Microbubbles are 1-10 μm diameter gas-filled acoustically-active particles, typically stabilized by a phospholipid monolayer shell. Microbubbles can be engineered through bioconjugation of a ligand, drug and/or cell. Since their inception a few decades ago, several targeted microbubble (tMB) formulations have been developed as ultrasound imaging probes and ultrasound-responsive carriers to promote the local delivery and uptake of a wide variety of drugs, genes, and cells in different therapeutic applications. The aim of this review is to summarize the state-of-the-art of current tMB formulations and their ultrasound-targeted delivery applications. We provide an overview of different carriers used to increase drug loading capacity and different targeting strategies that can be used to enhance local delivery, potentiate therapeutic efficacy, and minimize side effects. Additionally, future directions are proposed to improve the tMB performance in diagnostic and therapeutic applications.
