Assessment of intrinsic and extrinsic signaling pathway in excitotoxic retinal ganglion cell death

A role for polyamines in retinal ganglion cell excitotoxic death.

Neuronal death due to excessive activation of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors is a hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases. The polyamines: putrescine, spermine, and spermidine, bind to specific sites on the NMDA receptor and promote its activation, but their role in NMDA-induced neuronal death is ill defined. In this study, we characterized the role of polyamines in excitotoxic death of r...

Retinal Ganglion Cell Death

1.1 Topographic and cellular organization of the retina The retina is the thin (0.2 mm) lining of the back of the eye that gathers light focused on it by the cornea and lens. The retina has a complex laminar organization; cells are organized into layers (Fig. 1). These layers are named by reference to the middle of the eyeball; the innermost layers are located nearest the vitreous chamber, wher...

Extrinsic determinants of retinal ganglion cell structure in the cat.

The degree to which a retinal ganglion cell's environment can affect its morphological development was studied by manipulating the distribution of ganglion cells in the developing cat retina. In the newborn kitten there is an exuberant ganglion cell projection from temporal retina to the contralateral lateral geniculate nucleus (LGNd) (Leventhal et al., 1988) and from nasal retina to the ipsila...

Retinal ganglion cell death in experimental glaucoma.

AIMS To determine whether parasol retinal ganglion cells (magnocellular pathway) are selectively lost in the primate model of glaucoma. METHODS Ocular hypertension was induced in one eye of six Macaca fascicularis monkeys for 6-14 weeks. The retinal ganglion cells in these eyes were labelled retrogradely with the tracer horseradish peroxidase (HRP) implanted into the optic nerve and subsequen...

Excitotoxic Injury to Retinal Ganglion Cells