@article{ChenWaxmanWangetal.2020, author = {Chen, Si and Waxman, Susannah and Wang, Chao and Atta, Sarah and Loewen, Ralitsa and Loewen, Nils A.}, title = {Dose-dependent effects of netarsudil, a Rho-kinase inhibitor, on the distal outflow tract}, series = {Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology}, volume = {258}, journal = {Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology}, issn = {0721-832X}, doi = {10.1007/s00417-020-04691-y}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-231893}, pages = {1211-1216}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Purpose To characterize the effects of netarsudil on the aqueous humor outflow tract distal to the trabecular meshwork (TM). Wehypothesized that netarsudil increases outflow facility in eyes with and without circumferential ab interno trabeculectomy (AIT)that removes the TM. Methods Sixty-four porcine anterior segment cultures were randomly assigned to groups with (n= 32) and without circumferential AIT (n= 32). Cultures were exposed to 0.1, 1, and 10μM netarsudil (N= 8 eyes per concentration). For each concentration,IOP and vessel diameters were compared with their respective pretreatment baselines. Outflow tract vessel diameters wereassessed by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SDOCT) and rendered in 4D (XYZ time series). Results Netarsudil at 1μM reduced IOP both in eyes with TM (-0.60 ± 0.24 mmHg,p= 0.01) and in eyes without TM (-1.79 ±0.42 mmHg,p< 0.01). At this concentration, vessels of the distal outflow tract dilated by 72\%. However, at 0.1μMnetarsudilelevated IOP in eyes with TM (1.59 ± 0.36 mmHg,p< 0.001) as well as in eyes without TM (0.23 ± 0.32 mmHg,p<0.001). Vessels of the distal outflow tract constricted by 31\%. Similarly, netarsudil at a concentration of 10μM elevated IOP both in eyeswith TM (1.91 ± 0.193,p< 0.001) and in eyes without TM (3.65 ± 0.86 mmHg,p< 0.001). At this concentration, outflow tractvessels constricted by 27\%. Conclusion In the porcine anterior segment culture, the dose-dependent IOP changes caused by netarsudil matched the diameterchanges of distal outflow tract vessels. Hyper- and hypotensive properties of netarsudil persisted after TM removal}, language = {en} } @article{WaxmanStrzalkowskaWangetal.2023, author = {Waxman, Susannah and Strzalkowska, Alicja and Wang, Chao and Loewen, Ralitsa and Dang, Yalong and Loewen, Nils A.}, title = {Tissue-engineered anterior segment eye cultures demonstrate hallmarks of conventional organ culture}, series = {Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology}, volume = {261}, journal = {Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology}, number = {5}, doi = {10.1007/s00417-022-05915-z}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-323845}, pages = {1359-1368}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Background Glaucoma is a blinding disease largely caused by dysregulation of outflow through the trabecular meshwork (TM), resulting in elevated intraocular pressure (IOP). We hypothesized that transplanting TM cells into a decellularized, tissue-engineered anterior segment eye culture could restore the outflow structure and function. Methods Porcine eyes were decellularized with freeze-thaw cycles and perfusion of surfactant. We seeded control scaffolds with CrFK cells transduced with lentiviral vectors to stably express eGFP and compared them to scaffolds seeded with primary TM cells as well as to normal, unaltered eyes. We tracked the repopulation behavior, performed IOP maintenance challenges, and analyzed the histology. Results Transplanted cells localized to the TM and progressively infiltrated the extracellular matrix, reaching a distribution comparable to normal, unaltered eyes. After a perfusion rate challenge to mimic a glaucomatous pressure elevation, transplanted and normal eyes reestablished a normal intraocular pressure (transplanted = 16.5 ± 0.9 mmHg, normal = 16.9 ± 0.9). However, eyes reseeded with eGFP-expressing CrFK cells could not regulate IOP, remaining high and unstable (27.0 ± 6.2 mmHg) instead. Conclusion Tissue-engineered anterior segment scaffolds can serve as readily available, scalable ocular perfusion cultures. This could reduce dependency on scarce donor globes in outflow research and may allow engineering perfusion cultures with specific geno- and phenotypes.}, language = {en} }