Protocols for Creating Genetically-Transduced Animal Models of Ocular Hypertension and Glaucoma

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Several animal models of ocular hypertension (OHT) have been developed over the last two decades. Some researchers simply use naturally available naïve mammals such as rodents, rabbits, dogs, and monkeys to evaluate the effects of test agents. Other OHT researchers have created rodent models by ablating episcleral veins on the corneal surface using lasers or clips or filling them with hypertonic saline. In monkeys, the trabecular meshwork, the major aqueous humor (AQH) drainage system from the anterior chamber of the eye, can be partially coagulated using a laser to increase intraocular pressure (IOP). With the advent of genetical techniques, scientists have created gene knockout models of OHT. In the current chapter, the authors describe methods to genetically deliver genes into the anterior chamber and/or specific tissues that transduce the production of fibrotic cytokines such a transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β2 ). This cytokine is abnormally elevated in AQH of OHT/glaucoma patients and is increasingly linked to the development of OHT/glaucoma.