Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34003976›Full record

ArticleTranslational vision science & technology2021

Collagen Structural Changes in Rat Tarsus After Crosslinking.

Sruti S Akella, Juan Liu, Yuan Miao, Roy S Chuck, Anne Barmettler, Cheng Zhang

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Translational vision science & technology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 21% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Crosslinking of tarsal collagen as a hypothetical therapy for dry eye disease.Medical hypothesis, discovery & innovation ophthalmology journal · 2025
    Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Sruti S AkellaDepartment of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA.
Juan LiuDepartment of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA.
Yuan MiaoDepartment of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA.
Roy S ChuckDepartment of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA.
Anne BarmettlerDepartment of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA.
Cheng ZhangDepartment of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA.
Montefiore Medical Center · USAlbert Einstein College of Medicine · US

Funding

CTSA Administrative Supplement for Informatics Core: A novel AI/ML system to predict respiratory failure and ARDS in Covid-19 patientsUL1TR002556 · NCATS · ALBERT EINSTEIN COLLEGE OF MEDICINE, INC · PI KELLER, MARLA J, KIM, MIMI Y · 2018 to 2022
$26.7M
NCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR002556
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Purpose: Surgery is the standard treatment for floppy eyelid syndrome, but crosslinking (CXL) tarsus has recently been proposed as an alternative. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to use second-harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy to examine tarsal collagen ex vivo before and after photo-activated crosslinking. To quantify crosslinking, this study examined fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP), which indirectly measures tissue stiffness. Methods: Upper eyelid tarsal plates were dissected from 21 Sprague-Dawley rats (total of 42 tarsal plates). Six normal plates were sent for histopathology and SHG imaging; the remaining 36 were crosslinked with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) alone or riboflavin in PBS (concentrations of 0.1%, 0.3%, and 0.5%). Tissues were irradiated with 365-nm ultraviolet A light (power, 0.45 mW/cm2) for 30 minutes and immediately underwent SHG microscopy. Stiffness was indirectly measured with FRAP using fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-dextran. Results: SHG imaging of normal tarsus showed that the organization of collagen bundles is complex and varies greatly depending on location. After crosslinking with high-concentration riboflavin (0.5%), collagen fibers showed clear structural changes, becoming more densely packed and wavier compared to control. FRAP half-time to fluorescence recovery was significantly increased (P < 0.05), indirectly indicating increased tissue stiffness. No structural changes were observed after crosslinking with lower riboflavin concentrations of 0.1% and 0.3%. Conclusions: This is the first report of SHG microscopy used to image tarsus collagen before and after crosslinking. These results highlight collagen structural changes, with effects on tissue stiffness indirectly confirmed by FRAP. Translational Relevance: Collagen fibers in the tarsus may be a therapeutic target for crosslinking in order to treat symptomatic floppy eyelid syndrome.

Indexed as

AnkleRiboflavinAnimalsCollagenCross-Linking ReagentsRatsRats, Sprague-DawleyCollagenCross-Linking ReagentsRiboflavin

Identifiers

PMID34003976
PMCPMC8088227
OpenAlexW3158183769

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.