Autophagy deficiency protects against ocular hypertension and neurodegeneration in experimental and spontanous glaucoma mouse models.

ABSTRACT: Glaucoma is a group of diseases that leads to chronic degeneration of retinal ganglion cell (RGC) axons and progressive loss of RGCs, resulting in vision loss. While aging and elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) have been identified as the main contributing factors to glaucoma, the molecular mechanisms and signaling pathways triggering RGC death and axonal degeneration are not fully understood. Previous studies in our laboratory found that overactivation of autophagy in DBA/2J::GFP-LC3 mice led to RGC death and optic nerve degeneration with glaucomatous IOP elevation. We found similar findings in aging GFP-LC3 mice subjected to chronic IOP elevation. Here, we further investigated the impact of autophagy deficiency on autophagy-deficient DBA/2J-Atg4b^ko and DBA/2J-Atg4b^+/-

SUBMITTER: Dixon A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10449899 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature