Involvement of SDF1a and STAT3 in granulocyte colony-stimulating factor rescues optic ischemia-induced retinal function loss by mobilizing hematopoietic stem cells.

Purpose: Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) has been applied clinically for several years. In this study, we used G-CSF to induce the mobilization of hematopoietic progenitor cells into peripheral blood in an ischemia-induced retinal degeneration model.

Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats received G-CSF treatment for 5 days following optic ligation.

Functional dissection of lysine deacetylases reveals that HDAC1 and p300 regulate AMPK.

First identified as histone-modifying proteins, lysine acetyltransferases (KATs) and deacetylases (KDACs) antagonize each other through modification of the side chains of lysine residues in histone proteins. Acetylation of many non-histone proteins involved in chromatin, metabolism or cytoskeleton regulation were further identified in eukaryotic organisms, but the corresponding enzymes and substrate-specific functions of the modifications are unclear. Moreover, mechanisms underlying functional specificity of individual KDACs remain enigmatic, and the substrate spectra of each KDAC lack comprehensive definition.

Intraocular gene transfer of ciliary neurotrophic factor rescues photoreceptor degeneration in RCS rats.

Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) is known as an important factor in the regulation of retinal cell growth. We used both recombinant CNTF and an adenovirus carrying the CNTF gene to regulate retinal photoreceptor expression in a retinal degenerative animal, Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) rats. Cells in the outer nuclear layer of the retinae from recombinant-CNTF-treated, adenoviral-CNTF-treated, saline-operated, and contralateral untreated preparations were examined for those exhibiting CNTF photoreceptor protective effects.