RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Otx2 Promotes the Survival of Damaged Adult Retinal Ganglion Cells and Protects against Excitotoxic Loss of Visual Acuity <em>In Vivo</em>
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP 5495
OP 5503
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0187-11.2011
VO 31
IS 14
A1 Ibad, Raoul Torero
A1 Rheey, Jinguen
A1 Mrejen, Sarah
A1 Forster, Valérie
A1 Picaud, Serge
A1 Prochiantz, Alain
A1 Moya, Kenneth L.
YR 2011
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/31/14/5495.abstract
AB Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are the projection neurons from the eye to the brain and their loss results in visual impairment in a number of diseases. Transcription factors with a homeodomain can translocate between cells and, in at least one reported case, can stimulate neuronal survival. Otx2 is a homeoprotein transcription factor expressed in the retina that is taken up by RGCs. We thus hypothesized that Otx2 capture could regulate the survival of adult RGCs. We report that Otx2 stimulates the survival of adult mouse and rat RGCs in vitro and protects RGCs against NMDA-induced toxicity in vivo in mice. In the latter model, Otx2 also preserves visual acuity.