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1 From the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto; and 2 Department of Ophthalmology, Nagoya City University Medical School, Nagoya, Japan.
| Abstract |
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METHODS. Transient (60 minutes) retinal ischemia was induced in male rats by temporary ligation of the optic nerve. Thirty minutes before induction of ischemia, 17ß-estradiol (0.1 mg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally. At 6, 12, 24, and 48 hours after reperfusion, leukocyte accumulation in the retina was evaluated in vivo by means of acridine orange digital fluorography. Histologic and electroretinographic (ERG) studies were carried out to evaluate retinal damage.
RESULTS. Treatment with 17ß-estradiol significantly inhibited postischemic leukocyte accumulation; the maximum number of accumulating leukocytes was reduced by 35.7% at 24 hours after reperfusion (P = 0.01). Histologic examination showed that administration of 17ß-estradiol significantly reduced retinal damage, which was most obvious in the inner retina, 168 hours after reperfusion (P = 0.0001). ERG studies at 12 and 168 hours after reperfusion showed that recovery of the b-wave amplitude was significantly improved with treatment of 17ß-estradiol (P = 0.023).
CONCLUSIONS. The present study demonstrated the inhibitory effects of 17ß-estradiol on leukocyte accumulation and subsequent tissue injury during retinal ischemiareperfusion injury.
| Introduction |
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Leukocytes are thought to play a central role in ischemiareperfusion injury.7 8 9 Leukocytes accumulated in postischemic tissues may cause tissue injury by blocking blood flow,8 producing oxygen free radicals,10 11 and releasing various kinds of inflammatory cytokines.12 13 The importance of leukocytes in ischemiareperfusion injury has been demonstrated in many experimental studies by showing that prevention of their participation reduces ischemiareperfusion injury.14 15 16 We demonstrated that inhibition of leukocyte accumulation in the postischemic retina by blocking adhesion molecules reduced retinal damage during retinal ischemiareperfusion injury.17
Recent studies showed that treatment with 17ß-estradiol reduces postischemic leukocyte accumulation and the subsequent ischemic damage after transient myocardial ischemia.18 19 Delyani et al.18 have reported that estrogen treatment reduces leukocyte accumulation by approximately 40% in postischemic cardiac tissue. This inhibitory effect of estrogen on leukocyte accumulation after reperfusion may contribute to its protective effect against retinal damage during ischemiareperfusion injury, but there are presently no reports of such experimental studies.
We have developed a method of acridine orange digital fluorography that allows us to visualize leukocytes and to evaluate quantitatively leukocyte accumulation in the retina in vivo.20 21 22 Using this technique, we previously evaluated leukocyte accumulation in the rat retina during ischemiareperfusion injury.17 23 The present study was designed to evaluate quantitatively the inhibitory effects of 17ß-estradiol on leukocyte accumulation during retinal ischemiareperfusion injury in vivo using acridine orange digital fluorography. We also evaluated the protective effect of 17ß-estradiol on the subsequent ischemic retinal damage by means of histologic and electroretinographic (ERG) examinations.
| Methods |
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Transient retinal ischemia was induced by the method that has been described previously,24 with slight modification.13 23 After a lateral conjunctival peritomy, the lateral rectus muscle was disinserted and the optic sheath of the right eye was exposed by careful blunt dissection. A ligature of 6-0 nylon was then placed around the optic sheath and tightened until blood flow in the retinal vessels stopped, as determined by funduscopic examination with an operating microscope. After absence of perfusion for 1 hour, the suture was removed. In the present study, we used only those eyes in which complete reperfusion was confirmed through the operating microscope within 5 minutes of ligature removal.
To examine whether the administration of 17ß-estradiol attenuates retinal ischemiareperfusion injury, 0.1 mg/kg of 17ß-estradiol was given intraperitoneally 30 minutes before induction of ischemia; vehicle-treated rats were given the same volume of saline.
Acridine Orange Digital Fluorography
Acridine orange digital fluorography has been described previously
in detail elsewhere.21
22
This technique uses a scanning
laser ophthalmoscope (Rodenstock Instruments, Munich, Germany), coupled
with a computer-assisted image analysis system, that makes continuous
high-resolution images of fundus stained by acridine orange (Wako Pure
Chemicals, Osaka, Japan). Acridine orange, a metachromatic
fluorochrome, is a widely used probe in biochemical and cytochemical
studies. The dye emits a green fluorescence when it interacts with DNA.
The argon blue laser was used for the illumination source, with a
regular emission filter for fluorescein angiography because the
spectral properties of leukocytes stained with acridine orange are
similar to those of sodium fluorescein.
The evaluation of leukocyte accumulation was performed at 6, 12, 24, and 48 hours after reperfusion in both 17ß-estradioltreated and vehicle-treated groups. Eight eyes of eight different rats were examined at each time point. Eight nonischemic rats were evaluated as the control. In addition, eight rats were given an intraperitoneal injection of 17ß-estradiol immediately after reperfusion to examine the effect of 17ß-estradiol treatment at the different time points of ischemia on leukocyte accumulation. Immediately before acridine orange digital fluorography, rats were anesthetized with the same agent used before ischemia induction, and the pupils were dilated. A contact lens was placed on the cornea to maintain transparency throughout the experiments. Each rat had a catheter inserted into the tail vein and was placed on a movable platform. Body temperature was maintained between 37°C and 39°C throughout the experiment, and arterial blood pressure was monitored with a blood pressure analyzer (IITC, Woodland Hill, CA; Table 1 ).
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The video recordings were analyzed with an image analysis system, as described in detail elsewhere.21 22 In brief, the system consists of a computer equipped with a video digitizer (Radius, San Jose, CA), that digitizes the video image in real time to 640 horizontal and 480 vertical pixels with an intensity resolution of 256 steps. We evaluated the number of leukocytes accumulated in the retinal microcirculation 30 minutes after acridine orange injection. The number of fluorescent dots in the retina within 8 to 10 areas of 100 pixels square at a distance of 1 disc diameter from the edge of the optic disc was counted. The average of the number of dots in the areas studied was used as the number of leukocytes accumulated in the retinal microcirculation for each rat.
After the described laser ophthalmoscopic images were obtained, the rat was killed with an overdose of anesthesia. The eye was then enucleated to determine a calibration factor to convert values measured on a computer monitor (in pixels) into real values (in micrometers).
Histologic Analysis
Eight eyes from 8 rats in the 17ß-estradioltreated,
vehicle-treated, and nonoperated control groups were obtained to
evaluate the severity of retinal damage. After 168 hours of
reperfusion, the rats were killed with an overdose of anesthe sia. The
operated eyes were immediately enucleated, and a small incision was
made at the corneoscleral limbus. These eyes were fixed in 2%
formaldehyde and 2.5% glutaraldehyde in phosphate buffer and in 3.7%
formaldehyde afterward. The eyes were then dehydrated, embedded in
paraffin, sliced with a microtome into 2-µm-thick sections, and
stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Each section was cut along the
horizontal meridian of the eye through the optic nerve head,
perpendicular to the retinal surface. Four retinal sections were
examined with an optical microscope (x400) to a masking procedure and
then digitized by a charge-coupled device camera on a computer monitor.
To quantify the degree of retinal damage, we measured changes in thickness and linear cell densities (number of nuclei in a 50-µm-wide band) within the various retinal layers, using the method described by Hughes,25 with slight modification.23 We measured the thickness of the inner plexiform layer (IPL), inner nuclear layer (INL), outer nuclear layer (ONL), and the overall retina from inner to outer limiting membrane (ILMOLM) and also counted the number of cell nuclei of three retinal layers (ganglion cell layer [GCL], INL, and ONL). These measurements were made at a distance 1.5 mm from the center of the optic nerve head. The value was averaged from five measurements in the temporal and nasal hemispheres of four different sections, for a total of 40 measurements for each parameter.
ERG Responses
Six eyes from 6 different rats in the 17ß-estradioltreated and
vehicle-treated groups were obtained to evaluate the functional
recovery of retinal damage after 12 and 168 hours of reperfusion. With
the same agent used before ischemia induction, rats were anesthetized
and the pupils were dilated immediately before ERG analysis. Body
temperature was maintained at 37C° throughout the experiment.
After dark adaptation for at least 60 minutes, ERGs were recorded from each eye using a photostimulator lamp placed in front of the eye with a light intensity that was approximately 3.5 x 104 candela (cd)/m2 on the surface of the cornea. A carbon electrode (NEC Medical Systems, Tokyo, Japan) was then placed on the cornea and stainless steel needle electrodes (NEC Medical Systems) were placed beneath the skin of the nose and the tail, which served as reference and ground, respectively. The responses were amplified with a time constant of 0.3 second and a high-frequencycut filter of 1000 Hz (Biological Amplifier 1243; Nihon Kohden, Tokyo, Japan); four trials were averaged with QC-111J (Nihon Kohden). Each b-wave amplitude was measured with a HyperAnalyzer (Kissei Comtec, Tokyo, Japan), and data from three different experiments were averaged for each eye. ERGs were recorded at 12 and 168 hours after reperfusion in both 17ß-estradioltreated and vehicle-treated groups.
Statistical Analysis
Data are expressed as mean ± SEM. The data were analyzed
using ANOVA, with post-hoc comparisons tested using the Fishers
protected least significant difference test. Differences were
considered statistically significant when the probability value was
less than 0.05.
| Results |
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Regarding thickness of the ONL and cell density of the INL and ONL, there were no statistically significant differences among the three groups: nonoperated, vehicle-treated, and 17ß-estradioltreated rats.
ERG Responses
The functional protection of 17ß-estradiol against retinal
ischemiareperfusion injury was assessed by ERG analysis (Fig. 7)
. In vehicle-treated rats, b-wave recovery was 22.5% and 75.9% of
preischemic baseline amplitudes at 12 and 168 hours, respectively,
after reperfusion. Administration of 17ß-estradiol significantly
improved b-wave recovery after ischemiareperfusion (P = 0.023). b-Wave recovery 12 and 168 hours after reperfusion was 37.7%
and 91.0% (P = 0.0055 and 0.046 compared with
vehicle-treated rats, respectively) of preischemic baseline amplitudes
in 17ß-estradioltreated rats.
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| Discussion |
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In this study, we showed that the number of accumulated leukocytes in the retina increased significantly during reperfusion after the transient period of ischemia. Accumulated leukocytes in postischemic tissues have been suggested to be involved in the pathogenesis of ischemiareperfusion injury7 8 9 by producing oxygen free radicals10 11 and releasing various cytokines.12 13 In addition, Hatchell et al.8 reported capillary plugging by neutrophils in the postischemic rat retina, which was thought to be responsible for the no-reflow phenomenon seen after transient ischemia. Moreover, the deleterious role of leukocytes in ischemiareperfusion injury has been demonstrated in many experimental studies of various organs, including the cerebrum.14 15 16 29 A recent in vivo study into retinal ischemiareperfusion injury indicated that reduction of leukocyte accumulation by inhibition of intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1, one of the adhesion molecules that mediate leukocyte recruitment to the postischemic region,30 decreased subsequent retinal damage after transient retinal ischemia.17
The present study demonstrated that the administration of 17ß-estradiol 30 minutes before ischemia induction inhibited the increase in leukocyte accumulation after reperfusion. The maximal numbers of accumulated leukocytes were reduced by 35.7% with treatment of 17ß-estradiol. This inhibitory effect of 17ß-estradiol on leukocyte accumulation after reperfusion would contribute to its protective effect against retinal damage during ischemiareperfusion injury. Similar findings have been reported on the protective effects of 17ß-estradiol against myocardial ischemiareperfusion injury. Several investigators have reported that 17ß-estradiol treatment results in a marked reduction of leukocyte infiltration in postischemic myocardium, which leads to less cardiac necrosis.18 19 An experiment by Delyani et al.18 showed that administration of 17ß-estradiol attenuated leukocyte adherence to coronary vascular endothelium. Squadrito et al.19 also showed that the reduced accumulation of leukocytes in estrogen-treated rats was mediated by its inhibitory effect on ICAM-1 expression. Therefore, the inhibitory effect of 17ß-estradiol on ICAM-1 expression and subsequent leukocyte adhesion would account for the inhibition of leukocyte accumulation during ischemiareperfusion injury.
Our histologic results showed that retinal damage after ischemiareperfusion injury was most obvious in the inner retina. Previous investigations on retinal damage after ischemiareperfusion injury have shown that inner retinal elements are morphologically vulnerable to ischemic insults.25 31 32 This specificity might derive in part from the vulnerability of the inner retina to ischemic insult and in part from accumulated leukocytes that initially infiltrate the inner retina. A light microscopic study by Hangai et al.13 showed that neutrophils accumulated in the IPL, GCL, and nerve fiber layer of the postischemic retina, with less conspicuous changes occurring in the INL and ONL. In addition to neural cell death induced by ischemic insult, these accumulated leukocytes would contribute to ischemiareperfusion injury. Histologic sections in the study described herein showed the protective effect of 17ß-estradiol in retinal ischemiareperfusion injury, especially in the inner retina, and its inhibitory effects on leukocyte accumulation would account for this protective effect.
In the present study, transient retinal ischemia was induced by temporary optic ligation to make an experimental model of retinal ischemiareperfusion injury. However, it must be taken into account that ligating the optic nerve may cause transient disturbance of axonal flow, which results in damaging retinal ganglion cells.33 It has been demonstrated that axotomy-induced retinal ganglion cell death reaches approximately 40% at 7 days after axotomy.34 35 Therefore, axonal injury by temporal optic ligation may explain our results, which showed that the protective effect of 17ß-estradiol on cell density in GCL was moderate, compared with the effect on cell density of INL and thickness of IPL.
In conclusion, this study is the first to demonstrate that 17ß-estradiol protects against postischemic tissue damage of the retina. Considering the role of leukocytes in ischemiareperfusion injury, our findings suggest that the ability of 17ß-estradiol to attenuate leukocyte accumulation after transient ischemia would contribute to this protective effect.
| Footnotes |
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Submitted for publication July 29, 1999; revised March 6, 2000; accepted March 22, 2000.
Commercial relationships policy: N.
Corresponding author: Junichi Kiryu, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, 54 Kawara-cho, Shogoin, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan. kiryu{at}kuhp.kyoto-u.ac.jp
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