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. 2019 Mar 18;12(3):381-386.
doi: 10.18240/ijo.2019.03.05. eCollection 2019.

Effects of perfluorooctane on the retina as a short-term and small amounts remnant in rabbits

Qing-Chen Li  1   2 , Jian Yu  1   2 , Chun-Hui Jiang  1   2   3 , Hao-Hao Zhu  3 , Kun Liu  4 , Jin-Chuan Zhao  5
Affiliations

Effects of perfluorooctane on the retina as a short-term and small amounts remnant in rabbits

Qing-Chen Li et al. Int J Ophthalmol. .

Abstract

Aim: To investigate changes in the rabbit retina after short-term and small amounts tamponade of perfluorooctane (PFO).

Methods: New Zealand rabbits were used, and 48 eyes were randomly and evenly assigned into four different groups. The PFO groups received a residue of 0.1 mL of PFO for ophthalmic surgery or 0.1 mL of F-Octane at the end of surgery; eyes from the pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) group were filled with balanced salt solution and those having not received surgical intervention served as controls. Eyes were collected at 1, 4 and 12wk and studied.

Results: Under a microscope, nuclear counts of the inner nuclear layer (INL) and outer nuclear layer (ONL) did not differ among the four groups at all time points; however, slight disarrangement of the ONL and occasional vacuolization of the INL were found in the inferior retina only at 12wk in two PFO groups. Four of the groups had similar results of Caspase-3 and TNF-α staining at all time points. Alternatively, IL-8 was increased in PFOa and PPV control groups at 4wk and in all three PPV groups at 12wk; also, the apoptotic index (%) was similarly increased in all three PPV groups at 4 and 12wk.

Conclusion: Both PFOs are well tolerated in rabbit eyes for up to 12wk, which suggests that they can be used safely as intraoperative tools or for short-term and small amounts tamponade after surgery.

Keywords: perfluorooctane; retinal damage; tamponade.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Histological section of the inferior retina at 1, 4 and 12wk after surgery
Hematoxylin and eosin, 200×; The frames show the vacuolization in the inner nuclear layer of PFOa group and PFOb group.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Change of different parts of the retina at 12wk
A, B, D and E are samples from the PFOa group, and C and F are samples from PPV group. In the PFOa group: H&E staining showing that the superior retina had normal structure (A), while a slight disarrangement in the inferior retina (D); immunohistochemical staining intensity (TUNEL) was stronger in the inferior area (E) than the superior (B); in the PPV group, immunohistochemical staining intensity (TUNEL) was also stronger in the inferior area (F) than the superior (C).
Figure 3
Figure 3. Immunohistochemical staining intensity (H-Score) of TNF-α (A), Caspase-3 (B), IL-6 (C) and IL-8 (D) at different time point
The H-Score of neither Caspase-3 nor TNF-α was different among the four groups at any time points. The H-Score of IL-6 was elevated in PFOb group at 4wk after surgery, and the H-Score of IL-8 was elevated in the PFOa and PPV groups at 4wk and in three surgical groups at 12wk. ANOVA test was used to compare measurements between the four groups. aP<0.05.
Figure 4
Figure 4. TUNEL positive nuclei of the inferior retina at 1, 4 and 12wk (TUNEL, 200×, merged)
The apoptotic index (%) was not different among the four groups (P>0.05) at 1wk, but at 4 and 12wk, all surgical groups demonstrated a higher apoptotic index (%) than in the blank control (P<0.05).
Figure 5
Figure 5. The apoptotic index of the inferior retina (results of the TUNEL assay)
The apoptotic index (%) was not different among the four groups at 1wk, while at 4 and 12wk, all three surgical groups demonstrated a significantly higher apoptotic index (%) than in the blank control (P<0.05), but the indices were similar among them (P>0.05). The ANOVA test was used to compare measurements between the four groups. aP<0.05.
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