# Advances in technical methods and applications of subretinal injections in experimental animals

**Authors:** Chunyan Song, Yuke Ji, Yun Wang, Weihua Yang

PMC · DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1574519 · Frontiers in Veterinary Science · 2025-04-30

## TL;DR

This paper reviews subretinal injection techniques in animals, focusing on their use for treating eye diseases and improving drug delivery methods.

## Contribution

The study systematically reviews and compares subretinal injection methods and their applications in experimental animals.

## Key findings

- Subretinal injection is effective for delivering therapies directly to the subretinal space in experimental models.
- The review highlights the advantages and limitations of subretinal injection techniques in animal studies.

## Abstract

The subretinal injection technique is an important intraocular drug delivery modality that allows access to the subretinal space to directly act on target cells or the administration of medications, markedly improving the therapeutic efficacy of ocular diseases. Subretinal injection in experimental animals is a commonly used manipulation method for investigating vitreoretinal diseases, particularly when gene therapy and cell therapy studies are involved. In this study, we conducted a systematic review on the injection methods, operation sites, post-injection indicators, as well as the progress and significance of subretinal injection in experimental animals, discussed and compared the advantages and disadvantages of the subretinal injection technique, summarized its specific application of subretinal injection in experimental animals, and explored the development and application of this new technology of subretinal injection, hoping to offer insights that may facilitate the further development of this technology.

## Full-text entities

- **Genes:** Cntf (ciliary neurotrophic factor) [NCBI Gene 12803], Ccn5 (cellular communication network factor 5) [NCBI Gene 22403] {aka Crgr4, Ctgfl, Rcop1, Wisp2}, Cwc27 (CWC27 spliceosome-associated protein) [NCBI Gene 67285] {aka 3110009E13Rik, NY-CO-10, Sdccag10}, Lpcat1 (lysophosphatidylcholine acyltransferase 1) [NCBI Gene 210992] {aka 2900035H07Rik, Aytl2, LPCAT, LPCAT-1, lysoPAFAT, mLPCAT1}, Epo (erythropoietin) [NCBI Gene 13856], Rb1 (RB transcriptional corepressor 1) [NCBI Gene 19645] {aka Rb, Rb-1, p110-RB1, pRb, pp105}, Grk4 (G protein-coupled receptor kinase 4) [NCBI Gene 14772] {aka A830025H08Rik, GRK, Gprk2l, Gprk4}, Vegfa (vascular endothelial growth factor A) [NCBI Gene 22339] {aka L-VEGF, Vegf, Vpf}, Rpe65 (retinal pigment epithelium 65) [NCBI Gene 19892] {aka 65kDa, A930029L06Rik, LCA2, Mord1, RP20, rd12}
- **Diseases:** ocular diseases (MESH:D005128), diabetic retinopathy (MESH:D003930), RDS (MESH:C566881), degeneration (MESH:D009410), AMD (MESH:D008268), intraocular bleeding (MESH:D064090), corneal edema (MESH:D015715), RD (MESH:D012162), uveal melanoma (MESH:C536494), developmental disorders (MESH:D002658), tremor (MESH:D014202), CNV (MESH:D020256), RPE (MESH:C536309), cataract (MESH:D002386), BBS1 (MESH:C537909), bleeding (MESH:D006470), LCA (MESH:D057130), toxicity (MESH:D064420), retinitis (MESH:D012173), RP (MESH:D012174), retinal dystrophy (MESH:D058499), iris hemorrhage (MESH:D007499), eye dryness (MESH:D014987), retinal damage (MESH:D012164), Retinal detachment (MESH:D012163), RB (MESH:D012175), Crx deficiency (MESH:D007153), trauma (MESH:D014947), funduscopic diseases (MESH:D004194), vitreous hemorrhage (MESH:D014823), pupillary dilation (MESH:D002311), photoreceptor segment damage (MESH:C537538), fibrosis (MESH:D005355), inflammatory (MESH:D007249), atrophy (MESH:D001284), pupil dilation (MESH:D011681), endophthalmitis (MESH:D009877), Stargardt disease (MESH:D000080362), infection (MESH:D007239), tumors (MESH:D009369)
- **Chemicals:** thiazide (MESH:D049971), sodium hyaluronate (MESH:D006820), Obrocaine (-), sodium chloride (MESH:D012965), phenylephrine (MESH:D010656), tropicamide (MESH:D014331), water (MESH:D014867), fluorescein (MESH:D019793), proparacaine (MESH:C005717), Methylcellulose (MESH:D008747), ethanol (MESH:D000431), carbomer (MESH:C479038), polymer (MESH:D011108), bevacizumab (MESH:D000068258), xylazine (MESH:D014991), iodophor (MESH:D007466)
- **Species:** Ovis aries (domestic sheep, species) [taxon 9940], Cercopithecidae (monkey, family) [taxon 9527], Sus scrofa (pig, species) [taxon 9823], Felis catus (cat, species) [taxon 9685], adeno-associated virus 2 (no rank) [taxon 10804], Homo sapiens (human, species) [taxon 9606], Adeno-associated virus (species) [taxon 272636], Canis lupus familiaris (dog, subspecies) [taxon 9615], Oryctolagus cuniculus (domestic rabbit, species) [taxon 9986], Rattus norvegicus (brown rat, species) [taxon 10116], Cavia porcellus (domestic guinea pig, species) [taxon 10141], Mus musculus (house mouse, species) [taxon 10090], Murid betaherpesvirus 1 (Murine cytomegalovirus, no rank) [taxon 10366]
- **Cell lines:** WERI-RBb-1 — Homo sapiens (Human), Retinoblastoma, Cancer cell line (CVCL_1792), RPE — Homo sapiens (Human), Spontaneously immortalized cell line (CVCL_IQ82), B16 — Mus musculus (Mouse), Hybridoma (CVCL_U043)

## Full text

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## Figures

3 figures with captions in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12075335/full.md

## References

76 references — full list in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12075335/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12075335