J Korean Ophthalmol Soc.  2003 Feb;44(2):491-495.

The Neuroprotective Effect of Intravitreally Injected CNTF on Rat Retinal Ganglion Cell in Optic Nerve Crush Injury Model

• Kang JH
• Park KH
• Kim DM

Abstract

PURPOSE
To make an optic nerve crush injury model and to investigate the neuroprotective effect of intravitreally injected ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) on rat retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in the model. METHODS: The optic nerves of 12 Sprague-Dawley rats were crushed at 3 mm posterior to the eyeball for 1 minute using aneurysm clip (110 g). Two micrograms of CNTF in 2 micro liter of vehicle was injected intravitreally in one group (n=6) and 2 micro liter of PBS was injected in the control group (n=6) at 4, 7, and 10 days after the optic nerve injury. After 2 weeks, the retrograde labeling of the RGCs was done by the dextran tetramethylrhodamine. Twenty-four hours after the labeling, the retina was wholly mounted and the labeled RGCs were counted under the fluorescence microscope. RESULTS: The death of RGCs in this model began at 1 week and continued for 3 weeks. The number of labeled RGCs in CNTF-injected group (510+/-139/mm2) were significantly higher than that in control group (345+/-87/mm2)(p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The optic nerve crush injury model was established by use of aneurysm clip. In this model, the intravitreally injected CNTF had a neuroprotective effect on the rat RGCs.

Keyword

Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF); Optic nerve crush injury; Retinal ganglion cell; Neuroprotection

MeSH Terms

Aneurysm
Animals
Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor*
Dextrans
Fluorescence
Neuroprotective Agents*
Optic Nerve Injuries
Optic Nerve*
Rats*
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Retina
Retinal Ganglion Cells*
Retinaldehyde*
Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor
Dextrans
Neuroprotective Agents
Retinaldehyde