ABSTRACT

Purpose

To investigate amphiregulin (AREG) expression in the sclera during the development of form-deprivation myopia (FDM) and after the recovery of FDM in guinea pigs.

Methods

Sixty-four 2-week-old guinea pigs were randomly divided into the control and FDM groups. The right eyes of animals in FDM group were covered for 2 weeks (2 W) and 4 weeks (4 W), or were covered for 4 weeks and then uncovered for the subsequent 2 weeks (6 W). The diopters and axial lengths (AL) in the right eyes of guinea pigs were measured. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), immunofluorescence, and western blotting assays were used to detect the relative mRNA and protein expressions of AREG in the sclera of guinea pigs.

Results

Before masking (0 W), the refraction and AL in the right eyes of guinea pigs in the control and FDM groups did not differ significantly (both p > .05). Myopic shift was induced in guinea pigs with the diopters gradually decreased and AL increased in the FDM group. While no significant difference was found in control group at different time points, the relative AREG mRNA and protein expression levels in the FDM group were significantly increased in 2 W and 4 W and then decreased after 4 weeks of covering followed by uncovering for 2 weeks (all p < .05).

Conclusions

AREG was expressed in the sclera of guinea pigs. Moreover, the expression levels of AREG increased during the development of FDM and downregulated after recovery of FDM. Therefore, AREG may be involved in the regulation of scleral remodeling in myopia.

中文翻译：

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豚鼠近视发展过程中巩膜AREG的动态变化

摘要

目的

研究豚鼠形态剥夺性近视 (FDM) 发展过程中和 FDM 恢复后巩膜中双调蛋白 (AREG) 的表达。

方法

将 64 只 2 周龄豚鼠随机分为对照组和 FDM 组。FDM组动物的右眼分别被覆盖2周（2 W）和4周（4 W），或者被覆盖4周然后随后的2周（6 W）被覆盖。测量了豚鼠右眼的屈光度和眼轴长度（AL）。采用逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）、免疫荧光和蛋白质印迹法检测豚鼠巩膜中AREG的相对mRNA和蛋白表达。

结果

在掩蔽（0 W）之前，对照组和 FDM 组豚鼠右眼的屈光度和 AL 没有显着差异（均p > .05）。FDM组豚鼠近视移位，屈光度逐渐降低，AL增加。对照组不同时间点差异无统计学意义，而FDM组AREG mRNA和蛋白相对表达量在2 W和4 W时显着升高，4周后显着升高，4周后显着降低，2周后显着降低。所有p < .05)。

结论

AREG 在豚鼠的巩膜中表达。此外，AREG 的表达水平在 FDM 发展过程中增加，在 FDM 恢复后下调。因此，AREG可能参与了近视眼巩膜重塑的调节。