Why Choose a Non-Human Primate (NHP) Dry Eye Model?

Dry eye disease (DED) is a very prevalent multifactorial ocular surface disorder characterized clinically by ocular discomfort, tear film instability, and visual impairment. According to its etiology, DED is mainly divided into aqueous depletion dry eye (ADDE) and evaporative dry eye (EDE) caused by decreased tear production. Both etiologies result in disruption of tear film homeostasis, which triggers a cascade of ocular inflammation and subsequent injury. Although many animal models (including rodents and rabbits) have been developed to mimic dry eye pathophysiology, the anatomical, physiological, and immunological features of their ocular surface are different from those of humans, which greatly limits translational medicine research. Non-human primates (NHPs) have highly similar to human eye anatomy, in particular, a single main lacrimal gland and a larger eye size similar to humans, making the NHP an ideal model for studying therapeutic effects, pharmacokinetics, and efficient drug delivery to the eye.

Fig. 1. Corneal fluorescein staining of primate corneas. (Gong L, et al., 2022)

Service Overview

Ace Therapeutics is a premium supplier of ocular disease models, and we are pleased to provide you with non-human primate dry eye models. With years of experience developing ophthalmic drugs using non-human primate models, Ace Therapeutics can help you advance your project to the next stage. Throughout the model development process, we always adhere to high standards of design and development, and ensure model reliability through comprehensive evaluation.

Explore Ace Therapeutics' Non-Human Primate (NHP) Models of Dry Eye Disease

Ace Therapeutics induces DED, an NHP model of evaporative dry eye disease, by exposing Rhesus macaques to a controlled dry environmental room. You can use this model to measure pathophysiological reversal and progression of disease after candidate compound treatment, which can improve the efficiency of your translational research on ophthalmic products.

• Protocol to Induce a Non-Human Primate (NHP) Evaporative DED Model

Ace Therapeutics' researchers induce dry eye disease by keeping Rhesus macaques in a controlled environment room with a relative humidity (RH) below 15%, an airflow of 12 liters per minute, and a temperature of 21°C to 26°C. The follow-up period is 5 weeks. Dry eye was clinically assessed using corneal fluorescein staining at 0, 2, 3, and 5 weeks after dry eye induction.

Importantly, our ophthalmic pharmacologists also select clinically relevant compounds (cortisol drugs) for topical application to test the comparability and reliability of the NHP model to DED observed in humans.

Model Characteristics: A pathology similar to that observed in human patients emerged, manifested by increased corneal fluorescein staining scores, upregulation of inflammatory cytokines, and decreased tear film break-up time (TFBUT) and tear volume. After cortisol treatment, CFS scores were reduced, TFBUT was restored, and the upregulation of tear-inflammatory cytokines was prevented.

Available Support Services

Our investigators assess the persistence of dry eye symptoms after cessation of induction by measuring the following indicators, including but not limited to:

• Tear volume (Schirmer's test).
• Corneal slit lamp imaging.
• Tear film break-up time (TFBUT).
• Corneal fluorescein staining.
• Histological examination (cornea, lacrimal gland, hastelloy gland).
• Molecular biology.

Ace Therapeutics aims to provide a valuable tool to help our global customers explore the pathophysiology of dry eye disease and the development of potential new anti-inflammatory treatments. If you are interested in our services or need more detailed information, please feel free to contact us. Our experienced scientists are ready to help you!

Reference

1. Gong L, Guan Y, Cho W, et al. A new non-human primate model of desiccating stress-induced dry eye disease. Sci Rep. 2022, 12(1):7957.

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