Adoptive transfer of immune cells from glaucomatous mice provokes retinal ganglion cell loss in recipients

Gramlich, Oliver W.; Ding, Qiong; Zhu, Wei; Cook, Amy C.; Anderson, Michael G.; Kuehn, Markus H.

doi:10.1186/s40478-015-0234-y

Cited by 40 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 59 publications

(69 reference statements)

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“…4C). Although this approach relies on continuous expression of this RGC marker, we and others have found a high correlation between RGC numbers and optic nerve damage (24,(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34). Data obtained here demonstrate that eyes of vehicle control Tg-MYOC Y437H animals display a significantly lower RGC density than those of WT controls (1706.9 ± 491.3 RGC/mm 2 vs. 2171.9 ± 186.3 RGC/mm 2 , P = 0.027).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 55%

Transplantation of iPSC-derived TM cells rescues glaucoma phenotypes in vivo

Zhu

Gramlich

Laboissonniere

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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133

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Glaucoma is a common cause of vision loss or blindness and reduction of intraocular pressure (IOP) has been proven beneficial in a large fraction of glaucoma patients. The IOP is maintained by the trabecular meshwork (TM) and the elevation of IOP in open-angle glaucoma is associated with dysfunction and loss of the postmitotic cells residing within this tissue. To determine if IOP control can be maintained by replacing lost TM cells, we transplanted TM-like cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells into the anterior chamber of a transgenic mouse model of glaucoma. Transplantation led to significantly reduced IOP and improved aqueous humor outflow facility, which was sustained for at least 9 wk. The ability to maintain normal IOP engendered survival of retinal ganglion cells, whose loss is ultimately the cause for reduced vision in glaucoma. In vivo and in vitro analyses demonstrated higher TM cellularity in treated mice compared with littermate controls and indicated that this increase is primarily because of a proliferative response of endogenous TM cells. Thus, our study provides in vivo demonstration that regeneration of the glaucomatous TM is possible and points toward novel approaches in the treatment of this disease.G laucoma is one of the most common causes of irreversible vision loss and blindness worldwide; ∼60 million suffer from this disease, and of these, 7 million are blind (1). By definition all glaucoma involves some degree of vision loss, which is because of the death of retinal ganglion cells (RGC), as well as degeneration of the optic nerve head, the optic nerve, and the lateral geniculate nucleus (2, 3). Advanced age and elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) are the two most significant risk factors for the development of glaucoma. Elevated IOP is typically a result of disturbances in the balance of aqueous humor production and drainage. Aqueous humor is continuously synthesized within the eye and drained primarily through the trabecular meshwork (TM), a specialized structure located anterior to the root of the iris. Although occlusion of the aqueous humor outflow pathways can occur through several mechanisms, in the United States and other Western populations the most common form of glaucoma is primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), which manifests no gross abnormalities to the anterior portion of the eye.Randomized clinical trials have shown that reduction of IOP slows the onset and progression of glaucoma, even in patients without suspicious elevation of IOP (4, 5). Although there has been increasing awareness that factors other than elevated IOP contribute to glaucomatous damage, to date all treatments for glaucoma remain aimed at reducing IOP either through surgical or medical means, which has resulted in significant preservation of vision and increased quality of life for millions of glaucoma patients (6, 7).Although the TM in eyes with POAG appears relatively normal at a gross morphological level, a number of more subtle changes influencing the mechanical properties of the TM collage...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 55%

Transplantation of iPSC-derived TM cells rescues glaucoma phenotypes in vivo

Zhu

Gramlich

Laboissonniere

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

Self Cite

133

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“…Immune cell and/or microglial activation may therefore be a pertinent, early disease feature in animal models of glaucoma. Early changes to microglia [ 17 – 29 ] and peripherally derived immune cells [ 4 , 30 , 31 ] have been well documented in animal glaucoma models and in human glaucoma [ 32 – 34 ], consistent with this scenario of early immune activation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Inhibition of the classical pathway of the complement cascade prevents early dendritic and synaptic degeneration in glaucoma

Williams

Tribble

Pepper

et al. 2016

Mol Neurodegeneration

150

118

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BackgroundGlaucoma is a complex, multifactorial disease characterised by the loss of retinal ganglion cells and their axons leading to a decrease in visual function. The earliest events that damage retinal ganglion cells in glaucoma are currently unknown. Retinal ganglion cell death appears to be compartmentalised, with soma, dendrite and axon changes potentially occurring through different mechanisms. There is mounting evidence from other neurodegenerative diseases suggesting that neuronal dendrites undergo a prolonged period of atrophy, including the pruning of synapses, prior to cell loss. In addition, recent evidence has shown the role of the complement cascade in synaptic pruning in glaucoma and other diseases.ResultsUsing a genetic (DBA/2J mouse) and an inducible (rat microbead) model of glaucoma we first demonstrate that there is loss of retinal ganglion cell synapses and dendrites at time points that precede axon or soma loss. We next determine the role of complement component 1 (C1) in early synaptic loss and dendritic atrophy during glaucoma. Using a genetic knockout of C1qa (D2.C1qa-/- mouse) or pharmacological inhibition of C1 (in the rat bead model) we show that inhibition of C1 is sufficient to preserve dendritic and synaptic architecture.ConclusionsThis study further supports assessing the potential for complement-modulating therapeutics for the prevention of retinal ganglion cell degeneration in glaucoma.

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“…Other functions of C3 include promoting phagocytosis, cell adhesion, and chemotaxis. Both phagocytosis and cell infiltration are implicated in glaucoma (5,41,64,65). Given the physiological function of ONH astrocytes in phagocytosing myelin and mitochondria, an early effect of high IOP may be to alter astrogliosis and disrupt phagocytosis (41,66).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early immune responses are independent of RGC dysfunction in glaucoma with complement component C3 being protective

Harder

Braine

Williams

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

103

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Various immune response pathways are altered during early, predegenerative stages of glaucoma; however, whether the early immune responses occur secondarily to or independently of neuronal dysfunction is unclear. To investigate this relationship, we used the Wld s allele, which protects from axon dysfunction. We demonstrate that DBA/2J.Wld s mice develop high intraocular pressure (IOP) but are protected from retinal ganglion cell (RGC) dysfunction and neuroglial changes that otherwise occur early in DBA/2J glaucoma. Despite this, immune pathways are still altered in DBA/2J.Wld s mice. This suggests that immune changes are not secondary to RGC dysfunction or altered neuroglial interactions, but may be directly induced by the increased strain imposed by high IOP. One early immune response following IOP elevation is up-regulation of complement C3 in astrocytes of DBA/2J and DBA/ 2J.Wld s mice. Unexpectedly, because the disruption of other complement components, such as C1Q, is protective in glaucoma, C3 deficiency significantly increased the number of DBA/2J eyes with nerve damage and RGC loss at an early time point after IOP elevation. Transcriptional profiling of C3-deficient cultured astrocytes implicated EGFR signaling as a hub in C3-dependent responses. Treatment with AG1478, an EGFR inhibitor, also significantly increased the number of DBA/2J eyes with glaucoma at the same early time point. These findings suggest that C3 protects from early glaucomatous damage, a process that may involve EGFR signaling and other immune responses in the optic nerve head. Therefore, therapies that target specific components of the complement cascade, rather than global inhibition, may be more applicable for treating human glaucoma.G laucoma is a common disorder characterized by the loss of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and degeneration of the optic nerve (1-3). Intraocular pressure (IOP) elevation is a major risk factor for developing glaucoma (4). Harmful IOP leads to changes in immune response pathways in nonneuronal cells, such as astrocytes and microglia/monocytes (5-9). Similar changes occur in many neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's disease (10), Alzheimer's disease (11), and Huntington's disease (12). In glaucoma, immune responses are known to occur at predegenerative stages (5, 8), but key questions remain unanswered (2, 13-15). It is not known whether the earliest immune responses are protective or damaging, or which events irreversibly damage the optic nerve. Moreover, it is not known whether the immune responses are secondary to RGC dysfunction or occur independently, possibly as a more direct result of IOP elevation.In glaucoma, an early insult to RGC axons occurs where they exit the eye in the optic nerve head (ONH) (16)(17)(18)(19)(20). Modeling shows that an increase in IOP inside the eye leads to increased strain in this critical region (21,22). To understand the molecular responses occurring during glaucoma, gene expression profiles of human lamina astrocytes and ONH tissue from animal models hav...

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Adoptive transfer of immune cells from glaucomatous mice provokes retinal ganglion cell loss in recipients

Cited by 40 publications

References 59 publications

Transplantation of iPSC-derived TM cells rescues glaucoma phenotypes in vivo

Transplantation of iPSC-derived TM cells rescues glaucoma phenotypes in vivo

Inhibition of the classical pathway of the complement cascade prevents early dendritic and synaptic degeneration in glaucoma

Early immune responses are independent of RGC dysfunction in glaucoma with complement component C3 being protective

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