Abstract
The rabbit is commonly used to evaluate new corneal prosthetics and study corneal wound healing. Knowledge of the stiffness of the rabbit cornea would better inform the design and fabrication of keratoprosthetics and substrates with relevant mechanical properties for in vitro investigations of corneal cellular behavior. This study determined the elastic modulus of the rabbit corneal epithelium, anterior basement membrane (ABM), anterior and posterior stroma, Descemet's membrane (DM) and endothelium using atomic force microscopy (AFM). In addition, three-dimensional collagen fiber organization of the rabbit cornea was determined using nonlinear optical high-resolution macroscopy. The elastic modulus as determined by AFM for each corneal layer was: epithelium, 0.57 ± 0.29 kPa (mean ± SD); ABM, 4.5 ± 1.2 kPa, anterior stroma, 1.1 ± 0.6 kPa; posterior stroma, 0.38 ± 0.22 kPa; DM, 11.7 ± 7.4 kPa; and endothelium, 4.1 ± 1.7 kPa. The biophysical properties, including the elastic modulus, are unique for each layer of the rabbit cornea and are dramatically softer in comparison to the corresponding regions of the human cornea. Collagen fiber organization is also dramatically different between the two species, with markedly less intertwining observed in the rabbit vs. human cornea. Given that the substratum stiffness considerably alters the corneal cell behavior, keratoprosthetics that incorporate mechanical properties simulating the native human cornea may not elicit optimal cellular performance in rabbit corneas that have dramatically different elastic moduli. These data should allow for the design of substrates that better mimic the biomechanical properties of the corneal cellular environment.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 785-791 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Acta Biomaterialia |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2014 |
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Keywords
- AFM
- Cornea
- Elastic modulus
- Nonlinear optical high-resolution macroscopy
- Rabbit
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biomaterials
- Biomedical Engineering
- Biotechnology
- Biochemistry
- Molecular Biology
Cite this
Elastic modulus and collagen organization of the rabbit cornea : Epithelium to endothelium. / Thomasy, Sara M; Raghunathan, Vijay Krishna; Winkler, Moritz; Reilly, Christopher M.; Sadeli, Adeline R.; Russell, Paul; Jester, James V.; Murphy, Christopher J.
In: Acta Biomaterialia, Vol. 10, No. 2, 2014, p. 785-791.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Elastic modulus and collagen organization of the rabbit cornea
T2 - Epithelium to endothelium
AU - Thomasy, Sara M
AU - Raghunathan, Vijay Krishna
AU - Winkler, Moritz
AU - Reilly, Christopher M.
AU - Sadeli, Adeline R.
AU - Russell, Paul
AU - Jester, James V.
AU - Murphy, Christopher J
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - The rabbit is commonly used to evaluate new corneal prosthetics and study corneal wound healing. Knowledge of the stiffness of the rabbit cornea would better inform the design and fabrication of keratoprosthetics and substrates with relevant mechanical properties for in vitro investigations of corneal cellular behavior. This study determined the elastic modulus of the rabbit corneal epithelium, anterior basement membrane (ABM), anterior and posterior stroma, Descemet's membrane (DM) and endothelium using atomic force microscopy (AFM). In addition, three-dimensional collagen fiber organization of the rabbit cornea was determined using nonlinear optical high-resolution macroscopy. The elastic modulus as determined by AFM for each corneal layer was: epithelium, 0.57 ± 0.29 kPa (mean ± SD); ABM, 4.5 ± 1.2 kPa, anterior stroma, 1.1 ± 0.6 kPa; posterior stroma, 0.38 ± 0.22 kPa; DM, 11.7 ± 7.4 kPa; and endothelium, 4.1 ± 1.7 kPa. The biophysical properties, including the elastic modulus, are unique for each layer of the rabbit cornea and are dramatically softer in comparison to the corresponding regions of the human cornea. Collagen fiber organization is also dramatically different between the two species, with markedly less intertwining observed in the rabbit vs. human cornea. Given that the substratum stiffness considerably alters the corneal cell behavior, keratoprosthetics that incorporate mechanical properties simulating the native human cornea may not elicit optimal cellular performance in rabbit corneas that have dramatically different elastic moduli. These data should allow for the design of substrates that better mimic the biomechanical properties of the corneal cellular environment.
AB - The rabbit is commonly used to evaluate new corneal prosthetics and study corneal wound healing. Knowledge of the stiffness of the rabbit cornea would better inform the design and fabrication of keratoprosthetics and substrates with relevant mechanical properties for in vitro investigations of corneal cellular behavior. This study determined the elastic modulus of the rabbit corneal epithelium, anterior basement membrane (ABM), anterior and posterior stroma, Descemet's membrane (DM) and endothelium using atomic force microscopy (AFM). In addition, three-dimensional collagen fiber organization of the rabbit cornea was determined using nonlinear optical high-resolution macroscopy. The elastic modulus as determined by AFM for each corneal layer was: epithelium, 0.57 ± 0.29 kPa (mean ± SD); ABM, 4.5 ± 1.2 kPa, anterior stroma, 1.1 ± 0.6 kPa; posterior stroma, 0.38 ± 0.22 kPa; DM, 11.7 ± 7.4 kPa; and endothelium, 4.1 ± 1.7 kPa. The biophysical properties, including the elastic modulus, are unique for each layer of the rabbit cornea and are dramatically softer in comparison to the corresponding regions of the human cornea. Collagen fiber organization is also dramatically different between the two species, with markedly less intertwining observed in the rabbit vs. human cornea. Given that the substratum stiffness considerably alters the corneal cell behavior, keratoprosthetics that incorporate mechanical properties simulating the native human cornea may not elicit optimal cellular performance in rabbit corneas that have dramatically different elastic moduli. These data should allow for the design of substrates that better mimic the biomechanical properties of the corneal cellular environment.
KW - AFM
KW - Cornea
KW - Elastic modulus
KW - Nonlinear optical high-resolution macroscopy
KW - Rabbit
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84896546105&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84896546105&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.actbio.2013.09.025
DO - 10.1016/j.actbio.2013.09.025
M3 - Article
C2 - 24084333
AN - SCOPUS:84896546105
VL - 10
SP - 785
EP - 791
JO - Acta Biomaterialia
JF - Acta Biomaterialia
SN - 1742-7061
IS - 2
ER -