Usefulness of optical coherence tomography to detect central serous chorioretinopathy in monkeys

Abstract

Many systemic drugs can induce ocular toxicity and several ocular side-effects have been identified in clinical studies. However, it is difficult to detect ocular toxicity in preclinical studies because of the lack of appropriate evaluation methods. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is useful because it can provide real-time images throughout a study period, whereas histopathology only provides images of sacrificed animals. Using OCT alongside histopathology, attempts were made to find effective approaches for screening of drug-induced ocular toxicity in monkeys. Such approaches could be used in preclinical studies prior to human trials. Six male cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis Raffles) were orally administered one of six candidate MAPK/ERK kinase (MEK) inhibitors. Central serous chorioretinopathy, a known side-effect of such inhibitors, was identified in four monkeys by OCT. Artifacts generated during tissue processing meant that histopathology could not detect edematous changes. Thus, OCT is a useful tool to detect ocular toxicity which cannot be detected by histopathology in preclinical studies.

Cynomolgus monkey’s retina volume reference database based on hybrid deep learning optical coherence tomography segmentation

“…OCT has emerged as a generally used imaging technique that provides high-resolution cross-sectional images of various pathological findings in preclinical settings and enables reliable measurement of retinal thickness. Cynomolgus monkeys are ideal models for various congenital and acquired retinal diseases, such as retinitis pigmentosa 14 , glaucoma 9 , central serous chorioretinopathy 15 , 16 , and ocular safety studies. Notably, such data have paved the way for drug development, including photodynamic 17 , 18 and anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapies 19 , 20 .…”

Cynomolgus monkey’s choroid reference database derived from hybrid deep learning optical coherence tomography segmentation

“…Due to genetic and anatomical similarities to humans, cynomolgus monkeys have emerged as an ideal model for a number of innate and acquired retinal diseases 3 , 26 – 28 . Cynomolgus monkeys have also been found to exhibit soft drusen comparable to human early age-related macular degeneration, thereby offering insights into drusen biogenesis 29 .…”

“…In this context, optical coherence tomography (OCT) has been introduced as an adjunct investigation method to histopathological evidence to identify drug-related ocular toxicity in monkeys 3 , 4 . It is of great advantage that the retinas of cynomolgus macaques show structural analogies to those of humans—specifically the presence of a fovea, which can be depicted using OCT.…”