Keratoconus is an eye disease in which the cornea progressively deforms due to loss of cornea mechanical rigidity, and thus causes deterioration of visual acuity. Techniques to characterize the mechanical characteristics of the cornea are important to better monitor changes and response to treatments. To investigate the feasibility of using the endogenous fluorescence of cornea for monitoring alterations of its mechanical rigidity, linear tensiometry was used to quantitate stiffness and Young’s modulus (YM) after treatments that increase cornea stiffness (collagen photocross-linking) or decrease stiffness (enzymatic digestion). The endogenous ultraviolet fluorescence of cornea was also measured before and after these treatments. The fluorescence excitation/emission spectral ranges were 280 to 430/390 to 520 nm, respectively. A correlation analysis was carried out to identify fluorescence excitation/emission pairs whose intensity changes correlated with the stiffness. A positive correlation was found between variations in fluorescence intensity of the 415-/485-nm excitation/emission pair and YM of photocross-linked corneas. After treatment of corneas with pepsin, the YM decreased as the fluorescence intensity at 290-/390-nm wavelengths decreased. For weakening of corneas with collagenase, only qualitative changes in the fluorescence spectrum were observed. Changes in the concentration of native or newly created fluorescent molecular species contain information that may be directly or indirectly related to the mechanical structure of the cornea.
Collagen is a long fibrous structural protein that imparts mechanical support, strength and elasticity to many tissues. The state of the tissue mechanical environment is related to tissue physiology, disease and function. In the cornea, the collagen network is responsible for its shape and clarity; disruption of this network results in degradation of visual acuity, for example in the keratoconus eye disease. The objective of the present study is to investigate the feasibility of using the endogenous fluorescence of collagen crosslinks to evaluate variations in the mechanical state of tissue, in particular, the stiffness of cornea in response to different degrees of photo-crosslinking or RGX treatment—a novel keratoconus treatment. After removing the epithelium, rabbit corneas were stained with Rose Bengal and then irradiated with a 532 nm solid-state laser. Analysis of the excitation spectra obtained by fluorescence spectroscopy shows a correlation between the fluorescence intensity at 370/460 nm excitation/emission wavelengths and the mechanical properties. In principle, it may be feasible to use the endogenous fluorescence of collagen crosslinks to evaluate the mechanical stiffness of cornea non-invasively and in situ.
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