TY - JOUR
T1 - A time-dependent study of nano-mechanical and ultrastructural properties of internal limiting membrane under ocriplasmin treatment
AU - Mazzini, Alberto
AU - Palermo, Francesca
AU - Pagliei, Valeria
AU - Romano', Sabrina
AU - Papi, Massimiliano
AU - Zimatore, Giovanna
AU - Falsini, Benedetto
AU - Rizzo, Stanislao
AU - De Spirito, Marco
AU - Ciasca, Gabriele
AU - Minnella, Angelo Maria
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - Vitreomacular traction (VMT) syndrome has only been surgically treated for a long time. Recently,enzymatic vitreolysis with ocriplasmin has emerged as a possible option to release VMT and, in some cases, close full thickness macular holes (FTMHs). Despite its clinical relevance, gathering information about the ocriplasmin-induced alterations of the Inner Limiting Membrane (ILM) of the retina in a clinical study is a complex task, mainly because of the inter-individual variability among patients. To obtain more insights into the mechanism underlying the drug action, we studied in-vitro the mechanical and morphological changes of the ILM using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). To this aim, we measured the ILM average Young’s modulus (YM), hysteresis (H) and adhesion work (A) over time under ocriplasmin treatment. Our data unveil a time-dependent increase in the 34 membrane YM of 19% of its initial value, along with changes in its adhesive and dissipative behavior. Such modifications well correlate with the morphological alterations detected in the AFM imaging mode. Taken all together, the results here presented provide more insights into the mechanism underlying the ocriplasmin action in-vivo, suggesting that it is only able to alter the top-most layer of the vitreal side of the membrane, not compromising the inner ILM structure.
AB - Vitreomacular traction (VMT) syndrome has only been surgically treated for a long time. Recently,enzymatic vitreolysis with ocriplasmin has emerged as a possible option to release VMT and, in some cases, close full thickness macular holes (FTMHs). Despite its clinical relevance, gathering information about the ocriplasmin-induced alterations of the Inner Limiting Membrane (ILM) of the retina in a clinical study is a complex task, mainly because of the inter-individual variability among patients. To obtain more insights into the mechanism underlying the drug action, we studied in-vitro the mechanical and morphological changes of the ILM using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). To this aim, we measured the ILM average Young’s modulus (YM), hysteresis (H) and adhesion work (A) over time under ocriplasmin treatment. Our data unveil a time-dependent increase in the 34 membrane YM of 19% of its initial value, along with changes in its adhesive and dissipative behavior. Such modifications well correlate with the morphological alterations detected in the AFM imaging mode. Taken all together, the results here presented provide more insights into the mechanism underlying the ocriplasmin action in-vivo, suggesting that it is only able to alter the top-most layer of the vitreal side of the membrane, not compromising the inner ILM structure.
KW - AFM
KW - Basal membrane
KW - Tissue mechanics
KW - AFM
KW - Basal membrane
KW - Tissue mechanics
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10807/155429
U2 - 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2020.103853
DO - 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2020.103853
M3 - Article
SN - 1751-6161
VL - 2020
SP - 103853-N/A
JO - Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials
JF - Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials
ER -