Lens injury stimulates axon regeneration in the mature rat optic nerve.
In mature mammals, retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are unable to regenerate their axons after optic nerve injury, and they soon undergo apoptotic cell death. However, a small puncture wound to the lens enhances RGC survival and enables these cells to regenerate their axons into the normally inhibitory environment of the optic nerve. Even when the optic nerve is intact, lens injury stimulates macrophage infiltration into the eye, Müller cell activation, and increased GAP-43 expression in ganglion cells across the entire retina. In contrast, axotomy, either alone or combined with intraocular injections that do not infringe on the lens, causes only a minimal change in GAP-43 expression in RGCs and a minimal activation of the other cell types. Combining nerve injury with lens puncture leads to an eightfold increase in RGC survival and a 100-fold increase in the number of axons regenerating beyond the crush site. Macrophage activation appears to play a key role, because intraocular injections of Zymosan, a yeast cell wall preparation, stimulated monocytes in the absence of lens injury and induced RGCs to regenerate their axons into the distal optic nerve.
Leon
S
S
Department of Neurosurgery, Children's Hospital, Department of Surgery, and Program in Neuroscience, Harvard Medical School, Boston Massachusetts 02115, USA.
Yin
Y
Y
Nguyen
J
J
Irwin
N
N
Benowitz
L I
LI
D000818:Animals; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D001369:Axons / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002470:Cell Survival; D019922:GAP-43 Protein / Q000032:analysis; D007908:Lens, Crystalline / Q000293:injuries*; D008262:Macrophage Activation; D008264:Macrophages / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D009416:Nerve Regeneration / Q000502:physiology*; D009900:Optic Nerve / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D012165:Retinal Ganglion Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors
D019922:GAP-43 Protein