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Updated: Jul 18, 2026
Subretinal Transplantation of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Derived-retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells into a Large-eyed Model of Geographic Atrophy
Published on: January 22, 2018
Long-term retinal toxicity of intravitreal commercially available preserved triamcinolone acetonide (Kenalog) in
Thomas A Albini1, Muhammad M Abd-El-Barr, Petros E Carvounis
1Cullen Eye Institute, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
Purpose:
To investigate whether intravitreal Kenalog (IVTK; Bristol Meyers Squibb Company, Princeton, NJ) produces histologic or electroretinographic changes in the rabbit retina up to 3 months after injection.
Methods:
Ten Dutch-belted rabbits were injected with 4 mg/0.1 mL Kenalog in one eye and 0.1 mL physiologic salt solution (PSS) in the fellow eye. Simultaneous bilateral dark-adapted electroretinography was performed 2 weeks and 12 weeks after injection in 10 and 6 rabbits, respectively. Saturated a-wave amplitude, maximal scotopic b-wave amplitude, and individual a-wave and b-wave amplitudes of IVTK-injected and control eyes were compared at 2 and 12 weeks after injection. Light microscopy was performed on both eyes of three animals 3 months after injection. Immunohistochemistry was performed with antibodies recognizing vimentin and human alveolar macrophage (HAM)-56, markers of glial cells and macrophages, respectively.
Results:
No significant difference was observed in the saturated a-wave or maximal scotopic b-wave amplitudes between the PSS-injected eyes and the IVTK-injected eyes at 2 weeks (P = 0.95 and P = 0.56, respectively) and 12 weeks (P = 0.82 and P = 0.17) after injection. Light microscopy and immunohistochemistry disclosed only rare macrophages in the vitreous of IVTK-injected eyes. Retinal layers, retinal pigment epithelium, and choriocapillaris in treatment and control eyes were unremarkable.
Conclusions:
No demonstrable electroretinographic or histologic changes occurred to suggest immediate or delayed widespread retinal toxicity of IVTK.
