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Investigating Late-Stage Diabetic Retinopathy: A Long-Term Analysis of Vascular Changes in the Streptozotocin-Induced Mouse Model
Location: East Ballroom
Mentor: Dr. Midhat Abdulreda
Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) is a complication of diabetes which involves damage to microvascular systems within the eye and an increase in vascular permeability/leakage in the retina, leading to blindness. Current DR therapy involves direct injection into the vitreous in the back of the eye of anti-angiogenic agents to reduce pathological blood vessel growth and associated leakage and damage to the retina. Therefore, measuring the progression of pathological retinal leakage can be vital to inform the timing of treatment and to assess its efficacy. In this project, we investigated in diabetic mice the relationship between retinal leakage and visual changes before and after treatment. We also measured the extent of vascular damage and inflammation within the retina by ex vivo immunostaining. 3-D images of immunostained eye sections were taken on a fluorescence confocal microscope and analyzed for the presence of inflammatory immune cells and pathological changes in retinal blood vessels. The results showed a progressively increased pathological leakage of retinal blood capillaries that preceded changes in vision in association with DR before treatment. After treatment, there was significant improvement in retinal leakage and the vision of diabetic mice. The results also showed increased density of retinal blood vessels and inflammatory macrophages within the retina of diabetic mice. In summary, this project confirmed that leakage of retinal blood vessels is an early manifestation of DR before any visual impairment can be detected, and that inflammation and vascular changes within the retina are hallmarks of DR.
