Glaucoma is a major eye disease characterized by a progressive loss of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). Biomechanical forces as a result of hydrostatic pressure and strain play a role in this disease. Decreasing intraocular pressure is the only available therapy so far, but is not always effective and does not prevent blindness in many cases. There is a need for drugs that protect RGCs from dying in glaucoma; to develop these, we need valid glaucoma and drug screening models. Since in vivo models are unsuitable for screening purposes, we focus on in vitro and ex vivo models in this review. Many groups have studied pressure and strain model systems to mimic glaucoma, to investigate the molecular and cellular events leading to mechanically induced RGC death. Therefore, the focus of this review is on the different mechanical model systems used to mimic the biomechanical forces in glaucoma. Most models use either cell or tissue strain, or fluid- or gas-controlled hydrostatic pressure application and apply it to the relevant cell types such as trabecular meshwork cells, optic nerve head astrocytes, and RGCs, but also to entire eyes. New model systems are warranted to study concepts and test experimental compounds for the development of new drugs to protect vision in glaucoma patients. Impact Statement The outcome of currently developed models to investigate mechanically induced retinal ganglion cell death by applying different mechanical strains varies widely. This suggests that a robust glaucoma model has not been developed yet. However, a comprehensive overview of current developments is not available. In this review, we have therefore assessed what has been done before and summarized the available knowledge in the field, which can be used to develop improved models for glaucoma research.

中文翻译：

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青光眼的力学参数建模。

青光眼是一种主要的眼部疾病，其特征在于视网膜神经节细胞（RGC）逐渐丧失。由于流体静压力和应变而产生的生物力学力在该疾病中起作用。降低眼内压是迄今为止唯一可用的疗法，但并不总是有效的，并且在许多情况下不能预防失明。需要保护RGC免受青光眼死亡的药物。要开发这些药物，我们需要有效的青光眼和药物筛选模型。由于体内模型不适用于筛选目的，因此在本综述中我们将重点放在体外和离体模型上。许多小组研究了模拟青光眼的压力和应变模型系统，以研究导致机械性RGC死亡的分子和细胞事件。因此，本文的重点是用于模拟青光眼生物力学的不同力学模型系统。大多数模型都使用细胞或组织应变，或使用流体或气体控制的静水压力，并将其应用于相关的细胞类型，例如小梁网状细胞，视神经头星形胶质细胞和RGC，还应用于整个眼睛。有必要使用新的模型系统来研究概念并测试实验化合物，以开发保护青光眼患者视力的新药。影响陈述目前开发的通过应用不同的机械应变研究机械诱导的视网膜神经节细胞死亡的模型的结果差异很大。这表明尚未开发出鲁棒的青光眼模型。但是，没有关于当前发展的全面概述。