Beijing Tongren Eye Center, Beijing Key Laboratory of Intraocular Tumor Diagnosis and Treatment, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China; Beijing Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences Key Lab, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China; Medical Artificial Intelligence Research and Verification Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
Beijing Institute of Ophthalmology, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Key Laboratory, Beijing, China.
Exp Eye Res. 2024 Oct;247:110059. doi: 10.1016/j.exer.2024.110059. Epub 2024 Aug 22.
The purpose of the experimental interventional study was to examine the influence of intraocularly applied amphiregulin, a member of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) family, on axial length in young non-human primates. It included three non-human primates (Macaca mulatta), aged 4-6 years. The left eyes received three intravitreal injections of amphiregulin (400ng/50 μl) in intervals of 4 weeks, while the right eyes received three intravitreal injections of phosphate buffered solution (50 μl) at the same time points. Ocular biometry was performed in weekly intervals. At baseline, the left eyes (study eyes) were shorter than the right (control) eyes (20.69 ± 0.21 mm versus 20.79 ± 0.24 mm; P < 0.001), with an inter-eye axial length (AL) difference (left minus right eye) of -0.10 ± 0.23 mm. Inter-eye AL difference increased (P < 0.001) to 0.15 ± 0.18 mm at study end, at 12 weeks after baseline. Axial elongation during the study was higher (P < 0.001) in the left eyes (20.69 ± 0.21 mm to 21.05 ± 0.29 mm or 0.36 ± 0.30 mm) than in the right eyes (20.79 ± 0.24 mm to 20.90 ± 0.31 mm or 0.11 ± 0.17 mm). In a parallel manner, inter-eye difference in vitreous cavity depth combined with lens thickness (left eye minus right eye) increased from -0.04 ± 0.17 mm at baseline to -0.02 ± 0.21 mm (P = 0.02), 0.04 ± 0.10 mm (P = 0.002), and to 0.42 ± 0.67 mm (P < 0.001) at 5, 6, and 12 weeks after baseline, respectively. The results suggest that intravitreally applied amphiregulin as EGF family member led to an increase in axial length in adolescent non-human primates. It supports the hypothesis of amphiregulin as EGF family member being involved in the process of axial elongation.
本实验性介入研究的目的是研究眼内应用表皮生长因子（EGF）家族成员 Amphiregulin 对年轻非人类灵长类动物眼轴长度的影响。该研究纳入了 3 只（Macaca mulatta）4-6 岁的非人类灵长类动物。左眼每隔 4 周接受 3 次 Amphiregulin（400ng/50μl）玻璃体腔内注射，右眼同时在相同时间点接受 3 次磷酸盐缓冲液（50μl）玻璃体腔内注射。每周进行一次眼生物测量。在基线时，左眼（研究眼）短于右眼（对照眼）（20.69±0.21mm 与 20.79±0.24mm；P<0.001），双眼眼轴长度（AL）差值（左眼减去右眼）为-0.10±0.23mm。双眼 AL 差值在研究结束时增加（P<0.001）至 0.15±0.18mm，即在基线后 12 周。研究期间，左眼（20.69±0.21mm 至 21.05±0.29mm 或 0.36±0.30mm）的轴向伸长率高于右眼（20.79±0.24mm 至 20.90±0.31mm 或 0.11±0.17mm）（P<0.001）。同样，玻璃体内腔深度与晶状体厚度（左眼减去右眼）的双眼差值从基线时的-0.04±0.17mm 增加到-0.02±0.21mm（P=0.02）、0.04±0.10mm（P=0.002）和 0.42±0.67mm（P<0.001），分别在基线后 5、6 和 12 周。结果表明，玻璃体腔内应用 Amphiregulin 作为 EGF 家族成员导致青少年非人类灵长类动物眼轴长度增加。这支持了 Amphiregulin 作为 EGF 家族成员参与眼轴伸长过程的假设。
