Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Aug 18;6(4):415-21.
doi: 10.3980/j.issn.2222-3959.2013.04.01. eCollection 2013.

The correlation between rat retinal nerve fiber layer thickness around optic disc by using optical coherence tomography and histological measurements

Ju-Fang Huang  1 , Hui-Min Yu, Lei Shang, Ruo-Fei Ma, Ngobe Akume Cynthia, Yan-Qun Cao, Jia Luo, Le-Ping Zeng, Dan Chen, Kun Xiong
Affiliations

The correlation between rat retinal nerve fiber layer thickness around optic disc by using optical coherence tomography and histological measurements

Ju-Fang Huang et al. Int J Ophthalmol. .

Abstract

Aim: To explore the correlation between the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness by using optical coherence tomography (OCT) and by histological measurements in normal adult rats and optic nerve transected rats.

Methods: The RNFL thickness of 36 rats was scanned in a circle 3.46mm far from the optic disc by OCT. The two experimental groups were the normal group (n=20 rats) and the optic nerve transected group (n=16 rats). The latter group included 4 groups (n=4/group) surviving for 1 day, 3, 5 and 7 days. Then the RNFL thickness of the same retina area was also measured by NF-200 immunohistochemical staining method. Linear regression was used to analyze the correlation between the data obtained from these two methods.

Results: The RNFL thickness of normal right eyes around optic disc by OCT was 72.35±5.71µm and that of the left eyes was 72.65±5.88µm (P=0.074). The RNFL thickness of the corresponding histological section by immunohistochemistry was 37.54±4.05µm (right eyes) and 37.38±4.23µm (left eyes) (P=0.059). There was a good correlation between the RNFL thickness measured by OCT and that measured by histology (R(2)=0.8131). After optic nerve transection, the trend of the RNFL thickness was thinner with the prolonged survival time. The correlation of the thickness detected by the above two methods was approximately (R(2)=0.8265). Value of the RNFL thickness in rats around optic disc measured by OCT was obviously higher than that measured by common histological measurement in normal adult rats and optic nerve transected rats.

Conclusion: The RNFL thickness measured by OCT has a strong correlation with that measured by histological method. Through OCT scanning, we found that the thickness of RNFL gradually becomes thinner in a time-dependent manner.

Keywords: immunohistochemistry staining; optic nerve transection; optical coherence tomography; rat; relevance analysis; retinal nerve fiber layer thickness.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Schematic diagrams of rat retina tissue collection and histological measuring areas.
Figure 2
Figure 2. OCT color photography and statistical analysis of RNFL thickness in rat
A: OCT color photography of RNFL thickness; B: Statistical analysis of RNFL thickness. There is no statistical significant difference between the bilateral RNFL thickness (P=0.074).
Figure 3
Figure 3. Immunohistochemistry staining of NF-200 in rat retina
A: Picture of retina in low magnification; B: The measured area corresponding to A; B': The higher magnification picture of panel B, two lines and an arrow in panel B show the measurement process used in digital images. (ON: optic nerve; NFL: nervous fibre layer; GCL: ganglion cell layer; IPL: inner plexiform layer; INL: inner nuclear layer; OPL: outer plexiform layer; ONL: outer nuclear layer. Scale bar=50µm in Panel B', 100µm in Panel A).
Figure 4
Figure 4. Statistical analysis of RNFL thickness around the OD by using histology in rat
There is no statistical significant difference between bilateral RNFL (P=0.059).
Figure 5
Figure 5. Correlation analysis of the rat RNFL thickness in OCT and histology.
Figure 6
Figure 6. Average RNFL thickness in OCT image and TSNIT profile corresponded to average RNFL thickness of rat and human
A,B: Rat; C,D: Human; Arrows indicated bimodal feature.
Figure 7
Figure 7. Statistical analysis of RNFL thickness around the OD using OCT in rat after ON transaction
*: versus non-operated 7-day group: P=0.000; #: versus operated 1-day group: P=0.000; operated 3-day group: P=0.000; operated 5-day group: P=0.006.
Figure 8
Figure 8. Immunohistochemistry staining of NF-200 of rat retina after ON transection
A: Non-operated 1-day group; B-E: 1 day, 3, 5 and 7 days after ON transection. NFL: nerve fiber layer; GCL: ganglion cell layer; IPL: inner plexiform layer; INL: inner nuclear layer; OPL: outer plexiform layer; ONL: outer nuclear layer. Scale bar=50µm.
Figure 9
Figure 9. Statistical analysis of RNFL thickness around OD using histology in rat after ON transaction
*: versus non-operated 7-day group: P=0.001#: versus operated 1-day group: P=0.000; operated 3-day group: P=0.000; operated 5-day group: P=0.000.
Figure 10
Figure 10. Correlation analysis of rat RNFL thickness by OCT and histology after ON transection
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Huang L, Schuman J, Wang N. Comparison of nerve fiber layer thickness between optical coherence tomography and histomorphometry in glaucomatous monkey eyes. Zhonghua Yan Ke Za Zhi. 2001;37(3):188–192. - PubMed
    1. Schuman JS, Pedut-Kloizman T, Pakter H, Wang N, Guedes V, Huang L, Pieroth L, Scott W, Hee MR, Fujimoto JG, Ishikawa H, Bilonick RA, Kagemann L, Wollstein G. Optical coherence tomography and histologic measurements of nerve fiber layer thickness in normal and glaucomatous monkey eyes. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2007;48(8):3645–3654. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Fox J, Marsack J, Kim J, Thomsen S, Rylander HG, Milner TE. Measuring primate RNFL thickness with OCT. IEEE journal of selected topics in quantum electronics. 2001;7(6):899–905.
    1. Luo RJ, Ge J, Guo Y, Zhuo YH. Correlation of retinal thickness measured by optical coherence tomography and histologic studies in rabbits. Chinese Journal of Ocular Fundus Diseases. 2000;16(2):111–113.
    1. Huang LN, Fan N, Cheng HB, Lai MY, Zhao J. Comparability of sensory retinal thickness measured by different OCTs to histological studies in rabbit eyes. Ophthalmology in China. 2009;18(4):239–242.

LinkOut - more resources