Glaucoma is a multifactorial disease. Different species of tissues have direct/indirect biomechanical roles as risk factors for glaucoma, including pathological sclerosis of the trabecular meshwork (TM). It is essential to understand the biomechanical properties of TM to discover the mechanisms and signaling pathways associated with multiple forms of glaucoma.
Ace Therapeutics offers services to study the role of TM tissue biomechanics as a risk factor for glaucoma, helping scientists to pay close attention to the biomechanical properties of the TM and understand its role in glaucoma development.
Biomechanical Properties of TM in AH Outflow
Glaucoma is commonly associated with increased TM stiffness in addition to elevated IOP. The primary site of resistance is the TM, and increased TM stiffness leads to increased resistance to outflow within the regular aqueous outflow pathway, resulting in increased IOP. And it has been shown that in glaucomatous eyes, TM stiffness is much higher.
Fig. 1 Outflow of aqueous humor through the trabecular meshwork. (Raghunathan V, 2021)
TM is an extremely complex structure, and biomechanical studies can provide information on the mechanical forces involved in biological processes from the organ to the cellular level. The extracellular matrix (ECM) of TM regulates the resistance to the outflow of aqueous humor, thereby regulating IOP. Changes in tissue biomechanical properties have a profound impact on how cells respond to changes in their microenvironment. We can use a variety of techniques to characterize TM biomechanical properties and determine how these properties affect cellular behavior and outflow function.
Biomechanical Analysis of TM
Biomechanics is a powerful tool to study glaucoma. We provide biomechanical characterization of ocular tissues TM in the hope that it will help researchers to delve into the field of glaucoma research and provide new ideas for future studies.
- TM tissue measurements in different animal models
We can prepare TM biological samples for species such as mice, rats, pigs, and rabbits, which are essential for biomechanical characterization. The mechanical properties of TM are actually evaluated in vitro or ex vivo, combining imaging and computational methods to accurately characterize TM. - Basic parameters of TM mechanical properties
We focus on demonstrating the complexity and differences in quantifying TM mechanics, including the most common parameter defining the mechanical properties of ocular biological tissues - stiffness, which is a measure of the tendency of biological materials to resist deformation under stress, as well as studies on the viscoelastic properties of TM, and on cellular signaling pathways.
If you integrate all the data, it can be used for computer prediction, which will provide valuable information for your research to evaluate drug effects. - Analysis of the factors affecting the biomechanical properties of TM
In addition to glaucoma development, there are many factors that may alter TM biomechanical properties, such as lysophospholipids, ROCK inhibitors, cytoskeleton disruptors, TGF-β2, NO, aging, and other factors. You can identify the direction you are interested in and explore the glaucoma therapies acting on TM.
Applications
Glaucoma is closely related to the physiological changes of ocular tissues. The use of biomechanical methods to explore the relationship between ocular tissue structure and function at multiple scales can help reveal pathological processes. It can also be applied to other ocular diseases, such as,
- High myopia
- Diabetic eye disease
- Age-related macular degeneration
- Cataract
We hope to provide new ideas for your glaucoma treatment options, explore the role of biomechanics in glaucoma, and advance glaucoma research by combining biomechanical models with in vitro physiological models.
You can contact us with any ideas you have, and we are committed to helping you achieve them.
References
- Raghunathan V. Biomechanical Properties of the Trabecular Meshwork in Aqueous Humor Outflow Resistance. Ocular Rigidity, Biomechanics and Hydrodynamics of the Eye, 2021.
- Wang K, et al. Trabecular meshwork stiffness in glaucoma. Exp Eye Res, 2017, 158:3-12.