TY - JOUR
T1 - Age-related changes in the rhesus macaque eye
AU - Lin, Kira H.
AU - Tran, Tu
AU - Kim, Soohyun
AU - Park, Sangwan
AU - Chen, Jiajia
AU - Stout, J. Timothy
AU - Chen, Rui
AU - Rogers, Jeffrey
AU - Yiu, Glenn
AU - Thomasy, Sara
AU - Moshiri, Ala
N1 - Funding Information:
Ala Moshiri is supported by NIH K08 EY027463 , NIH U24 EY029904 , and Barr Foundation for Retinal Research. Sara M. Thomasy is supported by NIH R01 EY016134 , and NIH U24 EY029904 . Timothy Stout, Rui Chen, and Jeffrey Rogers are supported by NIH U24 EY029904 . This research was also supported by an unrestricted grant from Research to Prevent Blindness to Baylor College of Medicine . Glenn C. Yiu is supported by NIH K08 EY026101 , NIH R21 EY031108 , the Brightfocus Foundation, and Macula Society . Tu M. Tran was supported by Fight for Sight SS-19-001 . No funding organizations had any role in the design or conduct of this research. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funding agencies.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors
PY - 2021/11
Y1 - 2021/11
N2 - Purpose: To assess age-related changes in the rhesus macaque eye and evaluate them to corresponding human age-related eye disease. Methods: Data from eye exams and imaging tests including intraocular pressure (IOP), lens thickness, axial length, and retinal optical coherence tomography (OCT) images were evaluated from 142 individuals and statistically analyzed for age-related changes. Quantitative autofluorescence (qAF) was measured as was the presence of macular lesions as related to age. Results: Ages of the 142 rhesus macaques ranged from 0.7 to 29 years (mean = 16.4 years, stdev = 7.5 years). Anterior segment measurements such as IOP, lens thickness, and axial length were acquired. Advanced retinal imaging in the form of optical coherence tomography and qAF were obtained. Quantitative assessments were made and variations by age groups were analyzed to compare with established age-related changes in human eyes. Quantitative analysis of data revealed age-related increase in intraocular pressure (0.165 mm Hg per increase in year of age), ocular biometry (lens thickness 7.2 μm per increase in year of age; and axial length 52.8 μm per increase in year of age), and presence of macular lesions. Age-related changes in thicknesses of retinal layers on OCT were observed and quantified, showing decreased thickness of the retinal ganglion cell layer and inner nuclear layer, and increased thickness of photoreceptor outer segment and choroidal layers. Age was correlated with increased qAF by 1.021 autofluorescence units per increase in year of age. Conclusions: The rhesus macaque has age-related ocular changes similar to humans. IOP increases with age while retinal ganglion cell layer thickness decreases. Macular lesions develop in some aged animals. Our findings support the concept that rhesus macaques may be useful for the study of important age-related diseases such as glaucoma, macular diseases, and cone disorders, and for development of therapies for these diseases.
AB - Purpose: To assess age-related changes in the rhesus macaque eye and evaluate them to corresponding human age-related eye disease. Methods: Data from eye exams and imaging tests including intraocular pressure (IOP), lens thickness, axial length, and retinal optical coherence tomography (OCT) images were evaluated from 142 individuals and statistically analyzed for age-related changes. Quantitative autofluorescence (qAF) was measured as was the presence of macular lesions as related to age. Results: Ages of the 142 rhesus macaques ranged from 0.7 to 29 years (mean = 16.4 years, stdev = 7.5 years). Anterior segment measurements such as IOP, lens thickness, and axial length were acquired. Advanced retinal imaging in the form of optical coherence tomography and qAF were obtained. Quantitative assessments were made and variations by age groups were analyzed to compare with established age-related changes in human eyes. Quantitative analysis of data revealed age-related increase in intraocular pressure (0.165 mm Hg per increase in year of age), ocular biometry (lens thickness 7.2 μm per increase in year of age; and axial length 52.8 μm per increase in year of age), and presence of macular lesions. Age-related changes in thicknesses of retinal layers on OCT were observed and quantified, showing decreased thickness of the retinal ganglion cell layer and inner nuclear layer, and increased thickness of photoreceptor outer segment and choroidal layers. Age was correlated with increased qAF by 1.021 autofluorescence units per increase in year of age. Conclusions: The rhesus macaque has age-related ocular changes similar to humans. IOP increases with age while retinal ganglion cell layer thickness decreases. Macular lesions develop in some aged animals. Our findings support the concept that rhesus macaques may be useful for the study of important age-related diseases such as glaucoma, macular diseases, and cone disorders, and for development of therapies for these diseases.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.exer.2021.108754
DO - 10.1016/j.exer.2021.108754
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85115315713
VL - 212
JO - Experimental Eye Research
JF - Experimental Eye Research
SN - 0014-4835
M1 - 108754
ER -