PMID- 8448673
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 19930413
LR  - 20220310
IS  - 0006-8993 (Print)
IS  - 0006-8993 (Linking)
VI  - 602
IP  - 2
DP  - 1993 Feb 5
TI  - Intravitreal injections of neurotrophic factors support the survival of 
      axotomized retinal ganglion cells in adult rats in vivo.
PG  - 304-17
AB  - After transection of the optic nerve (ON) in adult rats, retinal ganglion cells 
      (RGC) progressively degenerate until, after two months, a residual population of 
      only about 5% of these cells survives. In this study, we investigated the effect 
      of regeneration-associated factors from sciatic nerve (ScN), BDNF, and CNTF on 
      the survival of adult rat RGC after intraorbital ON transection. Neurotrophic 
      factors were injected into the vitreous body. Rats were allowed to survive 3, 5, 
      or 7 weeks, and the remaining viable RGC were then labelled by retrograde 
      staining with the carbocyanine dye, 4Di-10Asp, which was applied onto the 
      proximal nerve stump in vivo. The animals were sacrificed 3 days later and RGC 
      counted in retinal whole mounts. Due to progressive degeneration following nerve 
      transection the number of surviving RGC decreased to about 10% of the initially 
      labelled population after 3 weeks, to about 8% after 5 weeks, and to about 5% 
      after 7 weeks. Survival of axotomized cells could be prolonged using either of 
      the neurotrophic factors: after 3 weeks a 2-3-fold increase in the number of 
      viable RGC could be obtained compared to uninjected controls and to those which 
      received injection of buffer. The prolonged survival effect vanished after 5 and 
      7 weeks, and no additive effect could be seen when combining brain-derived 
      neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and ciliary neuronotrophic factor (CNTF) treatment. 
      Morphometric analysis of labelled cells revealed that all neurotrophic factors 
      supported predominantly large RGC with somal areas > 250 micron 2. In retinae 
      from rats that survived the ON transection for several months, a characteristic 
      population of axotomy-resistant RGC remained alive. Their few, very large, and 
      often curled dendrites showed signs of placticity in the depleted inner nuclear 
      layer of the adult rat retina. We conclude that the intraocular injection of 
      CNTF, BDNF, and ScN-derived medium, which retard the process of lesion-induced 
      RGC degeneration, may be successfully used as a subsidiary strategy in 
      transplatation protocols. This would result in larger populations of RGC which 
      can be recruited to regenerate their axons and provide a basis for functional 
      recovery.
FAU - Mey, J
AU  - Mey J
AD  - Forschungslabor Universitats-Augenklinik, Tubingen (FRG).
FAU - Thanos, S
AU  - Thanos S
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PL  - Netherlands
TA  - Brain Res
JT  - Brain research
JID - 0045503
RN  - 0 (Nerve Growth Factors)
SB  - IM
MH  - Animals
MH  - Axons/*physiology
MH  - Cell Survival/drug effects
MH  - Dendrites/physiology
MH  - Exudates and Transudates/physiology
MH  - Female
MH  - Injections
MH  - Microscopy, Fluorescence
MH  - Nerve Degeneration/physiology
MH  - Nerve Growth Factors/administration & dosage/*pharmacology
MH  - Nerve Regeneration
MH  - Neuronal Plasticity/physiology
MH  - Optic Nerve/cytology/physiology
MH  - Peripheral Nerves/transplantation
MH  - Rats
MH  - Rats, Sprague-Dawley
MH  - Retinal Ganglion Cells/*drug effects
MH  - Sciatic Nerve/cytology/physiology
MH  - Vitreous Body
EDAT- 1993/02/05 00:00
MHDA- 1993/02/05 00:01
CRDT- 1993/02/05 00:00
PHST- 1993/02/05 00:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 1993/02/05 00:01 [medline]
PHST- 1993/02/05 00:00 [entrez]
AID - 0006-8993(93)90695-J [pii]
AID - 10.1016/0006-8993(93)90695-j [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Brain Res. 1993 Feb 5;602(2):304-17. doi: 10.1016/0006-8993(93)90695-j.