DRP1 inhibition rescues retinal ganglion cells and their axons by preserving mitochondrial integrity in a mouse model of glaucoma.

ABSTRACT: Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness and is characterized by slow and progressive degeneration of the optic nerve head axons and retinal ganglion cell (RGC), leading to loss of visual function. Although oxidative stress and/or alteration of mitochondrial (mt) dynamics induced by elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) are associated with this neurodegenerative disease, the mechanisms that regulate mt dysfunction-mediated glaucomatous neurodegeneration are poorly understood. Using a mouse model of glaucoma, DBA/2J (D2), which spontaneously develops elevated IOP, as well as an in vitro RGC culture system, we show here that oxidative stress, as evidenced by increasing superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2) and mt transcription factor A (Tfam) protein expression, triggers mt fission and

SUBMITTER: Kim KY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4558491 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature