calcein-am and Optic-Nerve-Diseases

Glaucoma is a progressive neurodegenerative disease, characterized by retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and axon degeneration. The development of neuroprotective drug is required for improving the efficiency of glaucoma treatment. Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. has been used as a source of traditional medicine and as a beneficial health food. Lignans is one of the main bioactive components of Eucommia ulmoides. Here, we show that lignans protects RGCs against oxidative stress-induced injury in vitro. Moreover, lignans exerts neuroprotective effect on glaucoma-associated optic neuropathy in glaucomatous rats. Lignans treatment could improve oxidative stress response in RGCs and retinas of glaucomatous rats. Lignans plays an anti-oxidative stress role via the activation of AMPK signaling. This study provides evidence that lignans possesses protective effect on glaucoma-associated optic neuropathy. Lignans might be an alternative for the prevention and treatment of glaucomatous neurodegeneration.

Topics: Animals; Cells, Cultured; Disease Models, Animal; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Eucommiaceae; Fluoresceins; Gene Expression Regulation; Glaucoma; Hydrogen Peroxide; Lignans; Male; Neuroprotective Agents; Optic Nerve Diseases; Phosphopyruvate Hydratase; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Retinal Ganglion Cells; RNA, Long Noncoding; Signal Transduction; Sincalide; Tubulin

To determine whether oxidative adduct formation or heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) expression are altered in retinal ganglion cell (RGC) cultures exposed to elevated hydrostatic pressure and in a mouse model of glaucoma.. Cultured RGC-5 cells were subjected to 0, 30, 60, or 100 mm Hg hydrostatic pressure for 2 hours, and the cells were harvested. Parallel experiments examined the recovery from this stress, the effect of direct 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE) treatment, and the effect of pretreatment with resveratrol or quercetin. Mice were anesthetized and intraocular pressure was increased to 30, 60, or 100 mm Hg for 1 hour; then the retinas were harvested. HNE adduct formation and HO-1 expression were assessed by immunocytochemistry and immunoblotting.. Increases of HNE-protein adducts (up to 5-fold) and HO-1 expression (up to 2.5 fold) in pressure-treated RGC-5 cells were dose dependent. During recovery experiments, HNE-protein adducts continued to increase for up to 10 hours; in contrast, HO-1 expression decreased immediately. HNE, at a concentration as low as 5 muM, led to neurotoxicity in RGC-5 cells. HNE adducts and HO-1 expression increased in the mouse retina and optic nerve after acute IOP elevation up to 5.5-fold and 2-fold, respectively. Antioxidant treatment reduced the oxidative stress level in pressure-treated RGC-5 cells.. This study demonstrates that oxidative stress is an early event in hydrostatic pressure/IOP-induced neuronal damage. These findings support the view that oxidative damage contributes early to glaucomatous optic neuropathy.

Topics: Aldehydes; Animals; Apoptosis; Blotting, Western; Cell Line, Transformed; Cell Survival; Cells, Cultured; Disease Models, Animal; Fluoresceins; Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; Glaucoma; Heme Oxygenase-1; Hydrostatic Pressure; Intraocular Pressure; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Microscopy, Fluorescence; Nuclear Proteins; Optic Nerve Diseases; Oxidative Stress; Rats; Retinal Diseases; Retinal Ganglion Cells