Development of neuroprotective strategies for treatment of neurodegenerative diseases
Description: Glaucoma is a neurodegenerative disease of the eye and causes irreversible blindness, which is associated with retinal ganglion cell (RGC) death. Studies indicate multiple factors are involved in the pathogenesis of glaucoma. In this study, we explored potential therapeutic strategies for glaucoma.We generated a novel mouse line overexpressing a glutamate transporter, GLAST (GLAST Tg). RGC death was reduced in GLAST Tg mice compared with WT mice in the optic nerve injury model, an animal model of glaucoma, suggesting that overexpression of GLAST may be effective for treatment of glaucoma. On the other hand, when we examined αRGCs and ipRGCs, subtypes of RGCs, in two glaucoma mouse models, the survival rate of these cell types was very high compared with other RGC cell types. These data suggested understanding characteristics of these cell types might help developing new neuroprotective strategies for glaucoma.
Amount: ¥4,940,000
Funding type: research
Funder scheme: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Start date: 2017-02-23
End date: 2020-03-31
Investigator: Atsuko KIMURA
Institution: Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science
Subfield: Ophthalmology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Funded outputs count: 17
Funder award ID: 17K07123
OpenAlex ID: G5401349859