BDNF Preserves the Dendritic Morphology of α and β Ganglion Cells in the Cat Retina after Optic Nerve Injury

Abstract

BDNF, in addition to promoting ganglion cell survival, plays an important role in preserving the somal and dendritic morphologies of the surviving ganglion cells, a necessary precursor to maintaining normal visual function. Ganglion cells, however, are not created equal with respect to their responses to nerve injury or to treatment of the eye with BDNF. Thus, development of effective treatment strategies for preserving ganglion cell function in optic nerve-related diseases mandates a clearer understanding of the cellular response characteristics of the specific neurons involved.

Effect of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor on Mouse Axotomized Retinal Ganglion Cells and Phagocytic Microglia

“…[60][61][62] In mice, the effect of BDNF has been mainly analyzed in models of photoreceptor degeneration, 63-65 but its effect on RGC survival after optic nerve injury is unknown. We studied two mouse strains, a pigmented and an albino strain, and found that in both strains the response to IONT and BDNF or vehicle treatment was similar in terms of RGC survival and microglial activation.…”

Retinal Ganglion Cell Morphology after Optic Nerve Crush and Experimental Glaucoma

“…20 Dendritic shrinkage after optic nerve crush has been documented histologically in cats. 21 Leung et al 22 studied the same YFP-expressing mouse strain after nerve crush with in vivo imaging of the same RGCs over time. They documented dendritic constriction in 68% of 125 RGCs studied in 12 mice.…”

“…Weber et al 8,21,38 have individually identified RGCs electrically, then filled them with dye for postmortem study in cats and monkeys. This elegant approach has yielded important findings, but is limited by the number of neurons that can be injected per eye and by possible selectivity in which RGCs are more likely to be successfully penetrated.…”

Retinal ganglion cell dendrite pathology and synapse loss

“…Early studies in the feline retina demonstrated that a cells endowed with large somata and dendritic arbors undergo a significant decrease in dendritic field size after axotomy, while b cells with medium-sized somata and more compact dendritic trees are less affected (Weber and Harman, 2008). Recent work supporting the idea that the dendrites of distinct RGC subtypes are differentially affected depending on the onset, duration of injury, and arbor stratification (Della Santina et al, 2013;El-Danaf and Huberman, 2015;Feng et al, 2013;Morquette et al, 2014) will be described below.…”