Establishment of a novel ER-stress induced myopia model in mice.

Background: Recent studies have indicated a strong correlation between endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and myopia and that eyedrops containing the ER stress inducer tunicamycin (Tm) can induce myopic changes in C57BL/6 J mice. Therefore, this study aimed to create a new myopia model using Tm eyedrops and to explore the mechanism of ER stress-mediated myopia development.

Methods: Three-week-old C57BL/6 J mice were treated with different concentrations (0, 25, 50, and 100 μg/mL) and/or number of applications (zero, one, three, and seven) of Tm eyedrops. Refraction and axial length (AL) were measured before and one week after Tm treatment. Scleral collagen alterations were evaluated under polarised light after picrosirius red staining. ER stress-related indicators, such as the expression of collagen I and cleaved collagen were detected using Western blotting.

Results: Compared with the control group, mice administered eyedrops with 50 μg/mL Tm only once showed the greatest myopic shifts in refraction and AL elongation and reduced scleral expression of collagen I. Picrosirius red staining showed a lower percentage of bundled collagen in the Tm group. Expression of ER-stress indicators increased in the Tm groups. Furthermore, optimised administration of Tm induced matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP2) expression in the sclera, which plays a major role in collagen degradation.

Conclusions: We have demonstrated that ER stress in the sclera is involved in myopia progression. Tm eyedrops induced myopic changes, loosening of the scleral collagen and decreased expression of collagen I. This process may be associated with ER stress in the sclera, which upregulates the expression of MMP2 leading to collagen degradation.