Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a hereditary blinding disease characterized by neurodegeneration of photoreceptors. Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in animal models of RP exhibit an abnormally high spontaneous activity that interferes with signal processing. Blocking AMPA/Kainate receptors by bath application of CNQX decreases the spontaneous firing, suggesting that inhibiting these receptors in vivo may help maintain the function of inner retinal neurons in rd10 mice experiencing photoreceptor degeneration. To test this, rd10 mice were i.p. injected with CNQX or GYKI 52466 (an AMPA receptor antagonist) for 1-2 weeks, and examined for their retinal morphology (by immunocytochemistry), function (by MEA recordings) and visual behaviors (using a black/white box). Our data show that iGluRs were up-regulated in the inner plexiform layer (IPL) of rd10 retinas. Application of CNQX at low doses both in vitro and in vivo, attenuated the abnormal spontaneous spiking in RGCs, and increased the light-evoked response of ON RGCs, whereas GYKI 52466 had little effect. CNQX application also improved the behavioral performance. Interestingly, in vivo administration of CNQX delayed photoreceptor degeneration, evidenced by the increased cell number and restored structure. CNQX also improved the structure of bipolar cells. Together, we demonstrated that during photoreceptor degeneration, blockade of the non-NMDA iGluRs decelerates the progression of RGCs dysfunction, possibly by dual mechanisms including slowing photoreceptor degeneration and modulating signal processing within the IPL. Accordingly, this strategy may effectively extend the time window for treating RP.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropharm.2018.06.027 | DOI Listing |
Transl Vis Sci Technol
January 2025
FM Kirby Center for Molecular Ophthalmology, Scheie Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Purpose: Geographic atrophy (GA), an advanced form of dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), has limited treatment options. This study introduces a novel mouse model featuring an expanding GA patch that can be used to test mechanisms and therapeutics.
Methods: C57Bl/6J male mice (n = 96) aged 9-10 weeks received an intraperitoneal (IP) injection of 20 mg/kg sodium iodate (NaIO3).
Cells
January 2025
Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a hereditary disease characterized by progressive vision loss ultimately leading to blindness. This condition is initiated by mutations in genes expressed in retinal cells, resulting in the degeneration of rod photoreceptors, which is subsequently followed by the loss of cone photoreceptors. Mutations in various genes expressed in the retina are associated with RP.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeurobiol Dis
January 2025
Department Neurobiology and Molecular Medicine, IRCCS Fondazione Stella Maris, 56128 Pisa, Italy. Electronic address:
Biallelic mutations in the SACS gene, encoding sacsin, cause early-onset autosomal recessive spastic ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay (ARSACS), a neurodegenerative disease also characterized by unique and poorly understood retinal abnormalities. While two murine models replicate the phenotypic and neuronal features observed in patients, no retinal phenotype has been described so far. In a zebrafish knock-out strain that faithfully mirrors the main aspects of ARSACS, we observed impaired visual function due to photoreceptor degeneration, likely caused by cell cycle defects in progenitor cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Cell Sci
January 2025
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131, Mexico.
The Rab11-Rabin8-Rab8 ciliogenesis complex regulates the expansion of cilia-derived light-sensing organelles, the rod outer segments, via post-Golgi rhodopsin transport carriers (RTCs). Rabin8, an effector of Rab11 and a nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) for Rab8, is phosphorylated at S272 by NDR2 kinase (aka STK38L), a canine erd gene product linked to the human ciliopathy Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA). Here, we define the step at which NDR2 phosphorylated Rabin8 regulates Rab11-Rab8 succession in X.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInvest Ophthalmol Vis Sci
January 2025
Department of Ophthalmology, the First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, USTC, Hefei, China.
Purpose: Oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) is an aerobic metabolic mechanism, and its dysfunction plays an important role in the pathological changes of ischemic diseases. However, systematic studies on the occurrence of retinal detachment (RD) are lacking.
Methods: Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) of the human retina was performed to detect the metabolic changes of various retinal cells after RD.
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