Using a Laminating Technique to Perform Confocal Microscopy of the Human Sclera

Summary

Human sclera tissue is mainly collagen; therefore, it is not easily usable for immunohistochemistry. To achieve the goal of performing immunohistochemistry for confocal microscopy of scleral tissue, a laminating technique was used.

Abstract

The sclera is a dense connective tissue that covers and protects the eye. It mainly consists of dense collagen bundles (types I, III, IV, V, VI, and VII). Due to its autofluorescence, opaqueness, and thickness, it has not been found suitable for confocal microscopy. An alternative approach to the one presented here, which uses formalin-fixed sclera embedded in paraffin for immunohistochemistry, has technical challenges, especially when preheating the tissue for antigen retrieval. Since the sclera is relatively poor in both cells and vessels, the use of larger tissue samples was explored to help prevent overlooking cells and to understand their localization in relation to vessels and other anatomical sites. To allow for the analysis of larger tissue samples under the confocal microscope, a laminating technique was performed to create thin layers from the sclera. Following the analysis of results of CD31 blood vessels and lymphatic vessel endothelial hyaluronan receptor 1 (LYVE1) positive cells, for which approval for scientific examination was obtained, the advantages and limitations of this method are discussed.

Introduction

The sclera is the rigid outer layer that covers the eye, which is made of dense connective tissue. It helps to protect intraocular structures and to maintain intraocular pressure. Thus, the sclera is essential for clear vision. It is devoid of lymphatic vessels ^1,2 and thereby forms an outer lymphatic-free border between it and the lymphatic-free inner eye ^3-7. It also provides attachment sites for extraocular muscles, thereby sharing anatomical similarities with tendons. Because the sclera mainly consists of dense bundles of type I collagen and has smaller numbers of collagen types III, IV, V, VI, VIII ^8,9 and elasti....

Protocol

The use of human tissues must be reviewed and approved by an institutional review board or the equivalent. The work described here was approved by the local ethics committee and had approval for scientific examination. This work was performed according to the Declaration of Helsinki. The human scleral specimens were obtained from the eyes of globe donors (maximum post-mortem time 24 hr) at the Eye Bank of the Department of Ophthalmology, University of Cologne, Germany.

1. Experimental Preparation

1. Prepare 96% ethanol and phosphate buffered saline (PBS) in different tubes. Prepare the primary antibodies in the recommended dilution of PBS containing 2%....

Results

In the representative experiments performed here, there are demonstrable benefits derived from the use of this particular laminating technique. The first experiment illustrates the diverse network of the episcleral blood vessel plexus in three representative pictures (Figure 3). The vessels are positive for CD31.

The second experiment shows immune cells, in particular LYVE1 + cells of the episclera and their rel.......

Discussion

Laminating the human sclera is a method for performing confocal microscopy on this tissue. A critical step in this process is the use of ethanol instead of formalin for affixing the tissue. In our experience, better results are obtained when using ethanol instead of formalin for fixation. Blunt scalpels aggravate the procedure and should be avoided. Similarly, the drying up of the sclera should be avoided, as it complicates the procedure and reduces the quality of the images.

Regarding the imm.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
96% ethanol	Merck Chemicals, Darmstadt, Germany	P075.4
binocular stereo microscope	Motic, Hongkong, China	n.a
26 G needles	Terumo, Leuven, Belgium	303800
15.5 mm trepan	Geuder, Heidelberg, Germany	n.a
no.10 scalpel	Feather, pfm medical, Osaka, Japan	2E+08
ophthalmic scalpel micro feather	Feather, pfm medical, Osaka, Japan	no. 7657BR
CD 31 antibody (monoclonal mouse anti human)	Dako, USA	IR610
LYVE1 antibody  (polyclonal rabbit anti human)	Zytomed, Germany	RBK014-05
goat anti mouse FITC antibody	Sigma Aldrich, Steinheim, Germany	F0257
goat anti rabbit Cy3 antibody	Dianova, Germany	111-165-003
Goat Serum normal	Dako, Glostrup, Denmark	X090710-8
DAPI	Carl Roth GmbH, Karlsruhe, Germany	6335.1
microscope slides	Engelbrecht, Edermünde, Germany	WC7695002
Coverslips 24 mm x 24 mm	Th. Gayer, Lohmar, Germany	7695026
DAKO fluorescent mounting medium	DAKO, USA	S3023
LSM Meta 510 confocal microscopy	Carl Zeiss AG, Jena, Germany	n.a