Journal Article

Effect of exogenous calcitriol on myopia development and axial length in guinea pigs with form deprivation myopia

Li, Tao, Liang, Rongbin, Gao, Hui, Wan, Ting, Shi, Wenqing, Li, Bing, Zhou, Xiaodong

2024

Overview

The annual increase in myopia prevalence poses a significant economic and health challenge. Our study investigated the effect of calcitriol role in myopia by inducing the condition in guinea pigs through form deprivation for four weeks. Untargeted metabolomics methods were used to analyze the differences in metabolites in the vitreous body, and the expression of vitamin D receptor (VDR) in the retina was detected. Following form deprivation, the guinea pigs received intraperitoneal injections of calcitriol at different concentrations. We assessed myopia progression using diopter measurements and biometric analysis after four weeks. Results indicated that form deprivation led to a pronounced shift towards myopia, characterized by reduced choroidal and scleral thickness, disorganized collagen fibers, and decreased scleral collagen fiber diameter. Notably, a reduction in calcitriol expression in vitreous body, diminished vitamin D and calcitriol levels in the blood, and decreased VDR protein expression in retinal tissues were observed in myopic guinea pigs. Calcitriol administration effectively slowed myopia progression, preserved choroidal and scleral thickness, and prevented the reduction of scleral collagen fiber diameter. Our findings highlight a significant decrease in calcitriol and VDR expressions in myopic guinea pigs and demonstrate that exogenous calcitriol supplementation can halt myopia development, enhancing choroidal and scleral thickness and scleral collagen fiber diameter.

• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group UK,Nature Publishing Group,Nature Portfolio
• Subject: 631/45/320 / 692/4017 / 692/699/3161 / Animals / Axial Length, Eye / Calcitriol / Calcitriol - pharmacology / Choroid / Choroid - drug effects / Choroid - metabolism / Choroid - pathology / Collagen / Collagen - metabolism / Disease Models, Animal / Disease Progression / Fibers / Guinea Pigs / Humanities and Social Sciences / Male / Metabolites / Metabolomics / multidisciplinary / Myopia / Myopia - drug therapy / Myopia - metabolism / Myopia - pathology / Receptors, Calcitriol - genetics / Receptors, Calcitriol - metabolism / Retina - drug effects / Retina - metabolism / Retina - pathology / Science / Science (multidisciplinary) / Sclera / Sclera - drug effects / Sclera - metabolism / Sclera - pathology / Swine / Vitamin D / Vitamin D - administration & dosage / Vitamin D - pharmacology / Vitamin D receptor / Vitamin D receptors / Vitreous Body - drug effects / Vitreous Body - metabolism