Eye shipment leads to study

IU postdoctoral researcher Abbas Shirinifard had what he calls a “lucky accident.”

Shirinifard works at the IU Biocomplexity Institute and makes computer simulations of the cells, tissues and structures of the human eye in an effort to create sustainable treatments for choridal neovascularization. The last eye he received was damaged, but the opportunity for research was not lost.

“When you have human tissue, the person, of course, who gave it to you is dead,” Biocomplexity Institute Director James Glazier said. “If somebody was kind enough to donate their remains to science, you don’t want to be discourteous to them by wasting it.”

CNV is a disease in which the blood vessels that supply the eye with oxygen and nutrients break into the retina. Blindness often follows in a matter of months.

Shirinifard said current CNV treatments focus primarily on “controlling or destroying the blood vessels after they invade,” but there are no therapies in regards to prevention.

Glazier called current treatment methods “medieval.” He said Shirinifard’s work with a real human eye has the potential for great application.

But the last time Shirinifard was sent an eye it had “turned into mush,” Glazier said. The eye was shipped in liquid, and air bubbles in the container shattered the eye to flakes.

Researchers were upset but examined the eye anyway. What they found falls in the realm of chance.

“You know, if you’re persistent sometimes things just happen,” Shirinifard said.

Regions of the retina with invading blood vessels had separated from the membrane, while regions that stayed attached showed much less invasion. These findings suggest that membrane adhesion might be an essential but overlooked mechanism in maintaining the retina’s structure.

They also suggest the influence of external forces on CNV.

“I think there’s too much emphasis on genetics and not enough on cell behaviors,” Glazier said. “I think Abbas’ work here is very important to show how cell behaviors and tissue behaviors can give you a new insight on a new disease.”

Shirinifard said he plans to continue this research.

“We’ll figure out ways of reducing factors that increase the risk of this kind of blood vessel growth,” he said.

“The first thing you have to know is what causes this growth of blood vessels, and when you figure out the factors that contribute then you find out some therapies or treatments.”

The final goal would be prevention, Shirinifard said. Understanding the external causes of CNV could decrease the total number of cases.

“The kind of research I’m doing allows for and provides a much broader perspective,” Shirinifard said. “When the tissues affect the cell there’s feedback, and this effect makes everything more complex.”