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1From the Hamilton Glaucoma Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California; and 2National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research and Department of Neurosciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California.
| Abstract |
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METHODS. The IOP of transgenic (Col1a1r/r) mice and control wild-type (Col1a1+/+) mice was measured at 7, 12, 16, 24, 36, and 54 weeks of age using a microneedle method. Transgenic Col1a1r/r and control Col1a1+/+ mice at 24 and 54 weeks of age were randomly selected and their optic nerves were processed conventionally for electron microscopy. Optic nerve cross-sections were collected 300 µm posterior to the globe. Low (200X) and high (10,000X) magnification images were collected systematically and were masked before analysis. For each nerve, cross-sectional area was measured in low magnification images, and axonal number was counted in high magnification images.
RESULTS. Mean IOP of the transgenic Col1a1r/r mice was significantly higher than that of the control Col1a1+/+ mice at 16, 24, 36, and 54 weeks by 21%, 42%, 41%, and 33% respectively (P < 0.05). The mean axonal density and total axonal number in the transgenic Col1a1r/r mice at 54 weeks of age (n = 10) was significantly less than those in the control Col1a1+/+ mice at 24 weeks (n = 5) and 54 weeks (n = 5; P = 0.0081 and P = 0.020, respectively, analysis of variance, P < 0.05 for pair-wise comparisons). The mean axonal density and total axonal number in the transgenic Col1a1r/r mice at 54 weeks also were significantly less than in the transgenic Col1a1r/r mice at 24 weeks (n = 10). Mean axonal loss between 24 and 54 weeks of age in the transgenic Col1a1r/r mice was 28.7%.
CONCLUSIONS. Transgenic Col1a1r/r mice develop sustained elevation of IOP and progressive optic nerve axon loss. This suggests that these mice may be useful as a mouse model of primary open angle glaucoma as well as for assessing the relationship between collagen type I metabolism and optic nerve axon loss.
Interest in the mouse as a model system to study glaucoma has emerged with the maturation of mouse transgenic technology that offers the possibility of investigating the effects of single or multiple gene alterations on glaucomatous axon loss in vivo.12 Three mouse strains with spontaneous IOP elevation and associated optic nerve axon loss have previously been described.13 14 15 Within these strains, IOP elevation was variable and associated with the formation of anterior synechiae and closed angle obstruction of aqueous outflow.
A transgenic mouse strain with a targeted mutation in the gene for the
1 subunit of collagen type I had a spontaneous and gradual IOP elevation.16 This mutation is positioned at the consensus cleavage site for matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)1 and inhibits hydrolysis of the collagen type I
1 subunit by endogenous MMPs. An age-dependent accumulation of collagen type I has been observed within several different collagen-containing tissues of these mice.17 18 19 In this strain, mean IOP became significantly higher than in the wild-type mice by 18 weeks of age and progressed to a 44% IOP elevation by 24 weeks of age.16 In addition, the anterior chamber angle remained open in these transgenic mice.16 If there is gradual optic nerve damage in this mouse strain, it may provide an open angle glaucoma model. The present study was undertaken to determine whether these mice have optic nerve axon loss.
| Materials and Methods |
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1 subunit sequence: Gln774 to Pro, Ile776 to Met, Ala777 to Pro, Val782 to Ala, and Val783 to Pro.17 20 Breeding pairs of these mice and the corresponding control wild-type (Col1a1+/+) were obtained from Jackson Laboratory (Bar Harbor, ME) and homozygous matings were conducted to expand the number of transgenic and wild-type mice. Homozygous transgenic Col1a1r/r and control Col1a1+/+ mice were used in this study. Mice were housed in clear cages covered loosely with air filters and containing white pine shavings for bedding. The environment was kept at 21°C with a 12-hour light and 12-hour dark cycle. All mice were fed ad libitum. Additional (Col1a1r/r) mice of various ages were a gift from Simon John of The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME.
IOP Measurements
The IOP of the transgenic Col1a1r/r and control Col1a1+/+ mice was measured at 7, 12, 16, 24, 36, and 54 weeks after birth with a microneedle method as previously described by Aihara et al.16 21 Mice were anesthetized with an intraperitoneal injection of a solution containing ketamine (100 mg/kg, Ketaset; Fort Dodge Animal Health, Fort Dodge, IA) and xylazine (9 mg/kg, TranquiVed; Vedco, Inc., St. Joseph, MO). A fluid-filled glass microneedle connected to a pressure transducer was inserted through the cornea into the anterior chamber to measure IOP. IOP was measured during 4 to 8 minutes after anesthesia to minimize the influence of anesthesia on the pressure. The measurements were made between 11:30 AM and 1:30 PM. to minimize the influence of the diurnal variation of IOP.
Fixation and Processing of the Optic Nerve
At 24 and 54 weeks of age, the transgenic Col1a1r/r mice and control Col1a1+/+ mice were selected at random, and optic nerve tissue was processed conventionally for electron microscopy as previously described.22 The 24-week-old mice were studied to assess whether total axon number at this time point was similar in the transgenic Col1a1r/r mice and control Col1a1+/+ mice. A previous study of this mouse strain found that this time point typically was approximately 6 weeks after maximal IOP elevation developed.16 Because another previous study found optic nerve axon loss after experimental induction of elevated IOP was negligible at 6 weeks, but significant at 12 weeks,22 assessment of axon survival in the present study 6 weeks after attainment of maximal IOP elevation was done to provide a baseline for the evaluation the effect of sustained IOP elevation on optic nerve axon survival. The 54-week-old mice were studied to assess the effect of sustained IOP elevation on axon loss. Briefly, the mice were anesthetized with intraperitoneal pentobarbital sodium (100 mg/kg, Nembutal; Abbott Laboratories, North Chicago, IL) and exanguinated by perfusion with mammalian Ringers solution containing lidocaine hydrochloride (0.1 mg/mL, Xylocaine; Astra USA, Inc., Westborough, MA) and heparin sodium (500 unit/mL, Heparin; Elkins-Sinn, Inc., Cherry Hill, NJ). Transcardial perfusion was then continued with fixative (approximately 20 mL of 2.5% glutaraldehyde and 2.0% paraformaldehyde in 0.15 M cacodylate buffer). The optic nerves were dissected and placed in this fixative overnight. The optic nerves were postfixed in 1% osmium tetroxide, stained in 2% uranyl acetate, dehydrated in ethanol and acetone, and embedded in epoxy resin (Durcupan; Electron Microscopy Sciences [EMS], Fort Washington, PA). Ultrathin sections were cut perpendicularly to the long axis of the optic nerves on an ultramicrotome, and placed on Formvar-coated slot grids. These sections were obtained at approximately 300 µm posterior to the nerve emanation from the globe. Sections were counterstained with 1% uranyl acetate and Sato lead, and viewed with a JEOL 12,000 EX electron microscope.
Optic Nerve Axon Counting
The number of axons in the mouse optic nerves was assessed according to the method developed by Williams et al.23 with minor modifications.22 For each optic nerve cross-section, electron micrographs were taken at low magnification (x200) to measure the area of the optic nerve cross-section. Then a series of twenty micrographs were taken at high magnification (x10,000) in a square lattice pattern in the following positions within the optic nerve: center, four micrographs; mid-periphery, eight micrographs; peripheral margin, eight micrographs. No adjustments in position were made with respect to the tissues including blood vessels and glial cells. To confirm the true magnification, calibration grids (1000 mesh/inch, No. 79,52501; EMS, Fort Washington, PA, and 2160 lines/mm, No. 206; Ted Pella, Redding, CA) were photographed at the same low and high magnifications.
Electron micrographs were digitized using a Peltier-cooled high-resolution CCD camera (CH250; Photometrics, Inc., Tucson, AZ) and magnified at x4 in the course of digitizing. The effective magnifications were therefore x800 at low magnification, and x40000 at high magnification. The identity of the digitized images was masked before analysis, and each image was analyzed using image-processing software (NIH Image, Version 1.62; public domain software). The area of the optic nerve cross-section was measured three times by outlining its outer border, and the mean of these measurements was used for subsequent calculations. To measure axonal density, a counting frame (7 x 8 cm) on the high magnification image was traced, and survival myelinated and unmyelinated axons within the frame and intersecting the upper and left edges were marked and counted manually using standard unbiased counting rules.24 The total area counted in the twenty micrographs analyzed for each nerve was 1120 µm2. This corresponded to approximately 2% of the total nerve cross-sectional area. Axon profiles that did not contain neurofilaments were excluded from the counts because they possibly represented degenerating axons. The mean axonal density was calculated, and the total axonal number was estimated by multiplying the mean density by the area of the optic nerve cross-section. In a prior study, we found that the measurements of total axon number using this protocol within the three adjacent sections of the same optic nerve had coefficients of variation < 1.4%.22 This indicated that this counting method could identify differences in the total axon number that exceeded 1.5%.
Statistical Analysis
The difference between mean IOP was statistically analyzed by the two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the Bonferroni/Dunn method for pair-wise comparisons. These comparisons included both animals in which IOP had been followed since birth and animals that had been received as adults. The one-way ANOVA and the Bonferroni/Dunn method for pair-wise comparisons were used for evaluation of optic nerve damage. P < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.
| Results |
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| Discussion |
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The accumulation of collagen type I throughout the transgenic Col1a1r/r mouse eye may have both indirect and direct influences on the development of optic nerve damage. The normal mouse eye has a well-developed Schlemms canal25 and uveoscleral outflow pathway similar to that in human eye.26 Histologic analysis of Col1a1r/r mice showed that the sclera is thicker and more immunoreactive for collagen type I than sclera from the eyes of control Col1a1+/+ mice.16 However, the angle remained open and no reorganization of trabecular outflow pathway structures was observed. These observations suggest that, though the basic pathway of aqueous outflow was unaltered, the facility of aqueous outflow may have become impaired by collagen accumulation within the trabecular and uveoscleral pathways. Further studies of aqueous dynamics within these mice, as recently reported in other mouse strains,27 28 may further clarify the impact of the collagen type I mutation on aqueous outflow.
Increased scleral collagen may have directly contributed to increased susceptibility of the optic nerve to damage by elevated IOP. An immunohistochemical study has shown that mouse optic nerve axons pass through a scleral canal that is surrounded by a ring of type I and type III collagen fibers.29 In view of the increased scleral collagen in Col1a1r/r mice, it possible that collagen I accumulation within this ring may have stiffened the edge of the scleral canal in a manner similar to the increased skin rigidity that has been previously reported in the Col1a1r/r mice.20 Whether this change occurs, whether there is a loss of tissue compliance at the optic nerve head, and whether there is associated increase in optic nerve damage susceptibility, should be studied further.
The gradual development and maintenance of IOP elevation in Col1a1r/r mice suggest it may be well-suited for investigations of gradual optic nerve damage. Additional study of the optic nerve in Col1a1r/r mice at time points shorter and longer than 54 weeks may further clarify the relationship between axon loss and duration of IOP elevation. Nevertheless, IOP elevation in this model appeared to be more gradual than in other mouse models of glaucoma. For example, laser treatment to the limbus of NIH black Swiss mice induced a 91% increase of mean IOP that returned to baseline by 6 weeks after laser treatment and was associated with a loss of about two-thirds of total axons by 12 weeks after treatment.22 30 Elevation of IOP in DBA/2J mice often occurs quickly with initiation between 8 and 12 months of age and maximal IOP greater than 30 mm Hg.14 Similarly, elevation of IOP in AKXD28 mice typically occurs quickly with onset between 15 and 18 months of age and maximal IOP greater than 30 mm Hg.14 In DBA/2J and AKXD28 mice, the optic nerve damage at the same age varies individually, ranging from mild to severe, and is observed in some but not all mice.14 Danias and coworkers found IOP elevation in DBA/2NNia mice often occurs between 6 and 9 months of age and begins to decline at 12 months of age, but significant loss of retinal ganglion cells is not observed until 15 months of age.15 However, the present study has shown IOP elevation in transgenic Col1a1r/r mice begins by 5 months, plateaus at approximately 24 mm Hg, and remains moderately elevated at 1 year old (54 weeks of age). Moreover, the variability of axonal loss in transgenic Col1a1r/r mice at 54 weeks of age may be lower than that in other mouse strains with IOP elevation.14 15 22 In addition, these mice have no gross reorganization of anterior segment structure and the anterior chamber angle is open, although accumulation of collagen I has been observed in the sclera.16
In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that optic nerve axon loss in transgenic Col1a1r/r mice, which develop sustained elevated IOP as they mature, is associated with age. This transgenic mouse may be a useful model for primary open angle glaucoma.
| Acknowledgements |
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| Footnotes |
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Submitted for publication September 11, 2003; revised January 17, 2004; accepted February 29, 2004.
Disclosure: F. Mabuchi, None; J.D. Lindsey, None; M. Aihara, None; M.R. Mackey, None; R.N. Weinreb, None
The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page charge payment. This article must therefore be marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C.
1734 solely to indicate this fact.
Corresponding author: Robert N. Weinreb, Hamilton Glaucoma Center, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0946;weinreb{at}eyecenter.ucsd.edu.
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