Journal
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
Volume 36, Issue 21, Pages 5891-5903Publisher
SOC NEUROSCIENCE
DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3709-15.2016
Keywords
axon degeneration; ER stress; glaucoma; neuroprotection; optic nerve; retinal ganglion cell
Categories
Funding
- NIH [EY023295, EY024932, DK042394, DK088227, HL052173]
- BrightFocus Foundation [G2013046]
- Fight for Sight [FFS-GIA-13-008]
- National Multiple Sclerosis Society [RG5021A1]
- Shriners Hospitals for Children
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Axon injury is an early event in neurodegenerative diseases that often leads to retrograde neuronal cell death and progressive permanent loss of vital neuronal functions. The connection of these two obviously sequential degenerative events, however, is elusive. Deciphering the upstream signals that trigger the neurodegeneration cascades in both neuronal soma and axon would be a key step toward developing the effective neuroprotectants that are greatly needed in the clinic. We showed previously that optic nerve injury-induced neuronal endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress plays an important role in retinal ganglion cell (RGC) death. Using two in vivo mouse models of optic neuropathies (traumatic optic nerve injury and glaucoma) and adeno-associated virus-mediated RGC-specific gene targeting, we now show that differential manipulation of unfolded protein response pathways in opposite directions-inhibition of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 alpha-C/EBP homologous protein and activation of X-box binding protein 1-promotes both RGC axons and somata survival and preserves visual function. Our results indicate that axon injury-induced neuronal ER stress plays an important role in both axon degeneration and neuron soma death. Neuronal ER stress is therefore a promising therapeutic target for glaucoma and potentially other types of neurodegeneration.
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