AIM:To evaluate the morphological and functional changes of retinas induced by treatment of tunicamycin with optical coherence tomography(OCT)in rats.

METHODS:Totally 60 SD rats were randomly divided into 3 groups(20 in each group), 0.5mg/kg(in low dose group), 1.5mg/kg(in high dose group)tunicamycin were injected into vitreous cavity and saline(9g/L NaCl)were injected in the same dose as a control group. Changes of retinas were observed by OCT on the 1,7 and 14d after treatment of tunicamycin. Then the rats were sacrificed, retinas were taken out and embedded by the paraffin, tissue sections and the HE staining were performed.

RESULTS:OCT results suggested that tunicamycin played damage effects on retinal morphology and structure which appeared a time- and dose- dependent. Fundus photography results suggested that 2wk after tunicamycin treatments, with the gradually changing of tunicamycin concentration, peripheral retinal and macular region became pale color gradually, edema occurred in optic disk, retinal vessels appeared thinner in the high dose group, optic nerve came out atrophy. Fluorescein angiography confirmed that tunicamycin injection in vitreous cavity 2wk later, retinal vessels injury occurred, resulted in leaking of intravascular contrast agent from peripheral to the central part of the retinas. Electrophysiological data showed that retinal electrogram occurred disorder induced by tunicamycin, such as the amplitude of a wave, b wave decreased gradually, even closed to zero, which was very different from control significantly(P<0.05). HE staining of paraffin sections showed that retina injuries induced by tunicamycin were in dose - time dependent, which was consistent with the results of OCT.

CONCLUSION: Clinical retinal diseases could be simulated by retinal damage animal model induced by tunicamycin treatment. OCT detection offered real-time images of the retinal cross-section, which provided a helpful non-invasive method for detecting and evaluating the retinal damages.