# Optic nerve head microstructure, biomechanics and susceptibility to glaucoma

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · 2020 · $409,437

## Abstract

SUMMARY
Detection and treatment of glaucoma would benefit greatly from a thorough understanding of the mechanisms
leading to neural tissue degeneration, and the development of a technique to evaluate eye-specific susceptibility
to damage before it occurs. Our long-term goal is the development of such a technique. Neural tissue
degeneration in early glaucoma is often localized to specific regions of the optic nerve head (ONH), and aging
and elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) increase the risk. Our central hypothesis is that the architecture of the
connective tissues of the ONH, and in particular of the lamina cribrosa (LC) within, determines the local
robustness and sensitivity to IOP, and with this the regional susceptibility to neural tissue damage in early
glaucoma, at all levels of IOP. In the previous project period, we used imaging tools based on polarized light
microscopy (PLM) to obtain micron-scale information of the tissues of the ONH, including maps of collagen fiber
alignment and the degree of stretch or relaxation of the fibers, referred to as crimp. We identified patterns in the
crimp within the ONH and around the globe, and an age-related decrease crimp. However, because of the lack
of suitable technology, analysis of the sensitivity to IOP was limited to comparing eyes fixed at different IOPs.
We used modeling to predict effects of architecture on tissue properties and sensitivity to IOP, but, again, the
lack of experimental tools made it impossible to actually test the relationship. We have developed two state-of-
the-art imaging techniques, SPLM and IPOL. SPLM provides PLM-like data, from fresh thick ONH tissues.
Coupled with optical coherence tomography, it provides excellent details of the ONH sensitivity to IOP during
inflation. IPOL improves speed, resolution and sensitivity, resolving in real time, not just collagen bundles, but
the details of the fibers forming the bundles. Using IPOL in a novel micro-mechanical testing system reveals fine
tissue details while under controlled load, thus allowing direct measurement of local mechanical properties.
Finally, we have developed a fiber-based simulation technique that allows modeling the tissues in a highly
realistic way. We will use these techniques to measure, in Aim 1, the ONH biomechanical sensitivity to IOP and
test the hypothesis that regions of known susceptibility to damage in early glaucoma are more sensitive to IOP.
We test the hypothesis that age is associated with lower sensitivity to IOP in the PPS and higher in the LC. In
Aim 2 we test the prediction that age is associated with changes in the architecture of the tissues of the ONH at
multiple scales. In Aim 3, we will measure directly the mechanical properties of the tissues, and use modeling
to test the hypothesis that the changes in sensitivity to IOP and biomechanical properties with age can be
accounted for by the changes in microstructure. This project will answer both novel and long-standing question
on the r...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9971889
- **Project number:** 2R01EY023966-06
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
- **Principal Investigator:** Ian A Sigal
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $409,437
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2014-03-01 → 2024-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9971889

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9971889, Optic nerve head microstructure, biomechanics and susceptibility to glaucoma (2R01EY023966-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9971889. Licensed CC0.

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