A Promising New Approach to Protecting the Nerves of the Eye and Preserving Vision
By Eric Craypo
Publication Summary
Microglia are the resident immune cells of the retina and central nervous system. Homeostatic microglia are protective and essential for brain and eye health but can rapidly shift to a harmful state that is a hallmark of neurodegenerative disease, such as glaucoma. The ability to shift microglia from a harmful state back to a protective state could open new doors for treatment. The Gronert and Flanagan Labs discovered how a small lipid molecule helps microglia in the optic nerve transition to a healing role. The research team identified a unique microglia type that appears only in the optic nerve during glaucoma-like damage, but does not appear in the retina. Remarkably, this damaging microglia type was transformed by the lipid molecule to a protective state, revealing a promising new approach to protecting the nerves of the eye and preserving vision.
Background
The resident astrocyte-retinal ganglion cell (RGC) lipoxin circuit is impaired during retinal stress, which includes ocular hypertension-induced neuropathy. Lipoxin B4 produced by homeostatic astrocytes directly acts on RGCs to increase survival and function in ocular hypertension-induced neuropathy. RGC death in the retina and axonal degeneration in the optic nerve are driven by the complex interactions between microglia and macroglia. Whether LXB4 neuroprotective actions include regulation of other cell types in the retina and/or optic nerve is an important knowledge gap.
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