Glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness worldwide, is associated with high intraocular pressure due to insufficient outflow of aqueous humor through the trabecular meshwork (TM). The TM is a complex three-dimensional environment of trabecular meshwork cells in an organized collagen-glycosaminoglycan (GAG) extracellular matrix. There is great need for an effective in vitro TM model for glaucoma drug screening. Here, uniaxially aligned, porous collagen-GAG scaffolds were created. These scaffolds were characterized by scanning electron microscopy demonstrating the uniaxially aligned pores, dynamic mechanical analysis, and GAG assays. Primary porcine TM cells were isolated and seeded onto collagen and collagen-GAG scaffolds and their viability, proliferation, and gene expression were measured. The cells cultured on the scaffolds exhibit high viability and are able to migrate into the scaffold structure. This work represents an important step toward the goal of engineering an in vitro TM model for glaucoma drug screening.

Uniaxially aligned, porous collagen-GAG scaffolds for in vitro modeling of human trabecular meshwork

249th National Meeting (2015)

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