title: Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells protect against retinal ganglion cell loss in aged rats with glaucoma.
abstract: Glaucoma is a common eye disease in the aged population and has severe consequences. The present study examined the therapeutic effects of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) transplantation in preventing loss of visual function in aged rats with glaucoma caused by laser-induced ocular hypertension. We found that BMSCs promoted survival of retinal ganglion cells in the transplanted eye as compared with the control eye. Further, in swimming tests guided by visual cues, the rats with a BMSC transplant performed significantly better. We believe that BMSC transplantation therapy is effective in treating aged rats with glaucoma.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Ophthalmology, Shanghai East Hospital of Tongji University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China ; Departments of Ophthalmology, First Affiliated Hospital, Harbin, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Hai Bo
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Xin Mei
authors.initials: XM
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rong
authors.forename: Hong Ping
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cui
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001766:Blindness / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002452:Cell Count / Q000379:methods; D002681:China; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000601:surgery*; D007429:Intraocular Pressure; D008297:Male; D045164:Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation; D023421:Models, Animal; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012165:Retinal Ganglion Cells; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: aging; cell therapy; glaucoma; stem cell; transplantation