Tensile Properties of Mouse Lenses with GsMTx4

Changes in the tensile properties of the control mouse lenses (3- to 4-weeks-old) and lenses incubated with GsMTx4 (2.44 μM for 48 h) were analyzed using an RSA III micro-strain analyzer (TA Instruments, New Castle, DE, USA) equipped with parallel plate tools, as we described previously [36 (link)]. Briefly, lens compression was carried out between 2 8-mm plates, which were attached to the parallel plate tools and mounted on actuator shafts. All measurements were performed at room temperature while the lens was submerged in the culture medium. The samples were strained at a constant rate of 0.05 mm/s for a total of 35 s until sample rupture occurred. Data were acquired and plotted in real time using TA Orchestrator software. Applied stress was calculated by dividing the measured changes in the applied force by the area. The slope values before lens rupture were calculated from the linear range of the slope and plotted in Microsoft excel. The percent change in Young’s modulus between the control and GsMTx4-incubated lenses is shown as a histogram output.