Li Runze, Hua Yi, Zhang Fengyi, Qian Xuejun, Gong Chen, Wan Xiao, Waxman Susannah, Zeng Yushun, Che Ziyuan, Zhang Junhang, Jin Wei, Humayun Mark S, Chen Zhongping, Sigal Ian A, Zhou Qifa
Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
Roski Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.
Sci Adv. 2025 Jul 11;11(28):eadp8631. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adp8631. Epub 2025 Jul 9.
The sclera, the eye's primary load-bearing tissue, substantially influences the globe's response to intraocular pressure. Although the mechanical properties of the anterior and posterior segments have been extensively studied, the equatorial sclera's properties remain underexplored, limiting our understanding of ocular conditions like myopia, ocular trauma, and glaucoma. Traditional studies that rely solely on fiber orientation to explain scleral mechanics may overlook the tissue's complex biomechanical behavior. To address this gap, we conducted a comprehensive investigation using ultrasonic elastography, optical coherence elastography, and polarizing light microscopy to analyze the equatorial sclera's anisotropic properties. Our findings reveal a counterintuitive result: Mechanical anisotropy in the equatorial sclera contradicts preferred fiber orientation. This integrated approach not only challenges prevailing models of scleral biomechanics but also provides fundamental insights into the mechanisms underlying key ocular conditions, highlighting the importance of multimodal and multiscale analyses in biological tissue research.
巩膜作为眼球主要的承重组织，对眼球对眼压的反应有重大影响。尽管眼球前后段的力学特性已得到广泛研究，但赤道部巩膜的特性仍未得到充分探索，这限制了我们对近视、眼外伤和青光眼等眼部疾病的理解。传统研究仅依靠纤维取向来解释巩膜力学，可能会忽略该组织复杂的生物力学行为。为填补这一空白，我们采用超声弹性成像、光学相干弹性成像和偏振光显微镜进行了全面研究，以分析赤道部巩膜的各向异性特性。我们的研究结果揭示了一个与直觉相悖的结果：赤道部巩膜的力学各向异性与优势纤维取向相矛盾。这种综合方法不仅挑战了现有的巩膜生物力学模型，还为关键眼部疾病的潜在机制提供了基本见解，凸显了多模态和多尺度分析在生物组织研究中的重要性。
