Feasibility assessment for the observation of murine retinal vessel by retro-orbital injection of fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran / 中华实验眼科杂志

ABSTRACT

Background The incidence of retinal vascular diseases increase annually,such as diabetic retinopathy,retinopathy of prematurity and age-related macular degeneration.The key of treatment for these diseases is how to evaluate retinal vascular change effectively and objectively.Retro-orbital injection of fluorescein isothiocyanatedextran (FITC-dextran) is a simple and effective method for observing C57BL/6J mouse retinal vessels.But,whether it is suitable for other mice and rats is seldom reported.Objective This experiment was to assess the feasibility of the observation of retinal vessels by retro-orbital injection of FITC-dextran in different genus of mouse and offer the reference for relevant study.Methods Twelve animals of C57BL/6J mice,Kunming mice,SD rats and Wistar rats were selected,respectively and divided into the experimental group and control group at average.The right eyes of the animals of the experimental group received the retro-orbital injection of 9 ml/kg FITC-dextran,and the right eyes of animals of the control group received PBS solution at the same volume and way.All the animals were sacrificed 10 seconds after injection and both eyes of each animal were obtained for retinal stretched preparation.The retrobulbar tissue and whole-mount retina were viewed under a fluorescence microscope.The use of the animals complied with Regulation for the Administration of Affair Concerning Experimental Animals by State Science and Technology Commission.Results Retinal blood vessels labeled by FITC-dextran could be observed in both eyes of C57BL/6J mice and Kunming mice to present with a green fluorescence in experimental group under a fluorescence microscope,but no any fluorescence-labeled retinal blood vessel was exhibited in the control mice.The retinal blood vessel could not be observed in all eyes of SD rats and Wistar rats after the injection of FITC-dextran both in the experimental group and the control group under a fluorescence microscope.The surrounding tissues of the right eyes of mice and rats dyed with green fluorescence of FITC-dextran in the experimental group,however,green fluorescence could not be seen in the surrounding tissues of the left eyes of mice and rats.Conclusions Retro-orbital injection of FITC-dextran is a suitable method of observing the retinal vessels of mouse but not rat.