Eye trabecular meshwork engineered models and perfusion systems for the
investigation of glaucoma disease
Abstract
Glaucoma is the second leading cause of irreversible blindness in the
world according to the World Health Organization. It is characterized by
the progressive degeneration of the optic nerve and despite the
significant advances in the field, a cure for glaucoma remains to be
found. The trabecular meshwork (TM) has been identified as the key
tissue that drives pressure regulation in eye. In this review, we look
over the main role of the aforementioned meshwork, as well as its
outflow physiology and pathology. Research in the field of glaucoma has
mostly progressed by employing animal models. However, these models are
often expensive, cumbersome and exhibit a high intra-species
variability. The lack of 3D in vitro models complicates the study of TM
pressure regulation mechanisms, which makes it difficult to make
progress in glaucoma research. In this paper, we review the time
evolution of glaucoma models and discuss the ways in which tissue
engineering fabrication techniques can be applied to create an
artificial TM that serves as a 3D in vitro model. We also study possible
outflow evaluation systems that are valid for both scaffold testing and
drug screening, which may improve the understanding of TM biology.