Demographics of tested dogs.

<p>Age, gender, genotype, IOPs and tissue collection are presented.</p

Relationship between age and biomechanical parameters from inflation and infusion testing.

<p><b>A.</b> Tangential strains from the circumferential cross-section at 15 mmHg (Tc_15) in the posterior sclera decreased with age in the affected group (R = -0.764, p = 0.027, n = 8). <b>B.</b> Normalized ocular rigidity significantly increased with age in the normal group (R = 0.906, p = 0.034, n = 5). <b>Legend:</b> affected dogs (red circles); normal dogs (gray triangles).</p

DMA parameters of the posterior sclera.

<p>Specimens from the affected (n = 15, squares) and normal (n = 10, triangles) groups were measured at six frequencies and two preloads (solid markers: preload at 0.1 N; open markers: preload at 0.04 N). <b>A:</b> Complex Modulus; <b>B:</b> Loss Tangent.</p

Fundus image of representative normal and affected dogs.

<p>The normal canine ONH appears pink and irregularly shaped due to myelination of the retinal ganglion cell axons as shown in this 72.1-month old carrier of the G661R <i>ADAMTS10</i> missense mutation (<b>A</b>). While the ONH still appears normal early in the disease process (<b>B1</b>, 21.1-month old affected dog), it becomes dark and round with advanced disease-related atrophy (<b>B2</b> and <b>B3</b>, 89.4- and 94.9-month affected dogs, respectively). With moderate atrophy, the ONH still appears slightly pink and irregularly shaped (<b>B4</b>). Because of secondary cornea and lens opacification with advanced glaucoma, the quality of the fundus images deteriorates and makes visualization of details such as cupping difficult. The identification of these representative dogs in the lower right corners of the images matches those in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0156466#pone.0156466.t001" target="_blank">Table 1</a>.</p

DMA and tensile testing protocols for each specimen strip.

<p>* indicated the small manual adjustments to fine tune the desired preload levels. Based on the predicted stress-relaxation that occurs in most soft tissue, the strip was first brought to a load 35% higher than the target pre-load (either 0.04 N or 0.10 N) prior to the manual adjustment. This is indicated by the initial stress overshoot in the figure)</p

Age and ocular dimensions in the affected and normal groups.

<p>Results from the present study and our previous published data [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0156466#pone.0156466.ref035" target="_blank">35</a>] are presented. NT: nasal-temporal; SI: superior-inferior.</p

Relationship between IOP with age and ocular rigidity in the affected group.

<p><b>A:</b> Last IOP was significantly positively associated with age in the affected group (p = 0.037). <b>B:</b> Last IOP was significantly negatively associated with normalized ocular rigidity (p = 0.003), but not significantly associated with any of the scleral biomechanical properties in the affected group.</p

Posterior scleral mechanical properties measured from uniaxial testing in the affected and normal groups.

<p>DMA data were measured at 0.04 N preload and 1 Hz. E^*: complex modulus. (p-values were based on linear regression models considering age as a covariate).</p

Age-associated changes in the posterior sclera.

<p>Affected: n = 15, red circles; normal: n = 10, gray triangles. Linear regression lines are shown for each group. <b>A:</b> complex modulus, <b>B:</b> loss tangent, <b>C:</b> initial tangent modulus A∙B, and <b>D</b>: slope of change B.</p