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Canovai A, Williams PA. Pyrroloquinoline quinone: a potential neuroprotective compound for neurodegenerative diseases targeting metabolism. Neural Regen Res 2025; 20:41-53. [PMID: 38767475 DOI: 10.4103/nrr.nrr-d-23-01921] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2023] [Accepted: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Pyrroloquinoline quinone is a quinone described as a cofactor for many bacterial dehydrogenases and is reported to exert an effect on metabolism in mammalian cells/tissues. Pyrroloquinoline quinone is present in the diet being available in foodstuffs, conferring the potential of this compound to be supplemented by dietary administration. Pyrroloquinoline quinone's nutritional role in mammalian health is supported by the extensive deficits in reproduction, growth, and immunity resulting from the dietary absence of pyrroloquinoline quinone, and as such, pyrroloquinoline quinone has been considered as a "new vitamin." Although the classification of pyrroloquinoline quinone as a vitamin needs to be properly established, the wide range of benefits for health provided has been reported in many studies. In this respect, pyrroloquinoline quinone seems to be particularly involved in regulating cell signaling pathways that promote metabolic and mitochondrial processes in many experimental contexts, thus dictating the rationale to consider pyrroloquinoline quinone as a vital compound for mammalian life. Through the regulation of different metabolic mechanisms, pyrroloquinoline quinone may improve clinical deficits where dysfunctional metabolism and mitochondrial activity contribute to induce cell damage and death. Pyrroloquinoline quinone has been demonstrated to have neuroprotective properties in different experimental models of neurodegeneration, although the link between pyrroloquinoline quinone-promoted metabolism and improved neuronal viability in some of such contexts is still to be fully elucidated. Here, we review the general properties of pyrroloquinoline quinone and its capacity to modulate metabolic and mitochondrial mechanisms in physiological contexts. In addition, we analyze the neuroprotective properties of pyrroloquinoline quinone in different neurodegenerative conditions and consider future perspectives for pyrroloquinoline quinone's potential in health and disease.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Pete A Williams
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
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Williams PA, Casson RJ. Glycolysis and glucose metabolism as a target for bioenergetic and neuronal protection in glaucoma. Neural Regen Res 2024; 19:1637-1638. [PMID: 38103218 PMCID: PMC10960284 DOI: 10.4103/1673-5374.389638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2023] [Revised: 09/21/2023] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Pete A. Williams
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Robert J. Casson
- Ophthalmic Research Laboratories, Discipline of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia
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Rombaut A, Jovancevic D, Wong RCB, Nicol A, Brautaset R, Finkelstein DI, Nguyen CTO, Tribble JR, Williams PA. Intravitreal MPTP drives retinal ganglion cell loss with oral nicotinamide treatment providing robust neuroprotection. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2024; 12:79. [PMID: 38773545 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-024-01782-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2024] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Neurodegenerative diseases have common underlying pathological mechanisms including progressive neuronal dysfunction, axonal and dendritic retraction, and mitochondrial dysfunction resulting in neuronal death. The retina is often affected in common neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. Studies have demonstrated that the retina in patients with Parkinson's disease undergoes changes that parallel the dysfunction in the brain. These changes classically include decreased levels of dopamine, accumulation of alpha-synuclein in the brain and retina, and death of dopaminergic nigral neurons and retinal amacrine cells leading to gross neuronal loss. Exploring this disease's retinal phenotype and vision-related symptoms is an important window for elucidating its pathophysiology and progression, and identifying novel ways to diagnose and treat Parkinson's disease. 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) is commonly used to model Parkinson's disease in animal models. MPTP is a neurotoxin converted to its toxic form by astrocytes, transported to neurons through the dopamine transporter, where it causes mitochondrial Complex I inhibition and neuron degeneration. Systemic administration of MPTP induces retinal changes in different animal models. In this study, we assessed the effects of MPTP on the retina directly via intravitreal injection in mice (5 mg/mL and 50 mg/mL to 7, 14 and 21 days post-injection). MPTP treatment induced the reduction of retinal ganglion cells-a sensitive neuron in the retina-at all time points investigated. This occurred without a concomitant loss of dopaminergic amacrine cells or neuroinflammation at any of the time points or concentrations tested. The observed neurodegeneration which initially affected retinal ganglion cells indicated that this method of MPTP administration could yield a fast and straightforward model of retinal ganglion cell neurodegeneration. To assess whether this model could be amenable to neuroprotection, mice were treated orally with nicotinamide (a nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide precursor) which has been demonstrated to be neuroprotective in several retinal ganglion cell injury models. Nicotinamide was strongly protective following intravitreal MPTP administration, further supporting intravitreal MPTP use as a model of retinal ganglion cell injury. As such, this model could be utilized for testing neuroprotective treatments in the context of Parkinson's disease and retinal ganglion cell injury.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Rombaut
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Danica Jovancevic
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Raymond Ching-Bong Wong
- Centre for Eye Research Australia, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, Melbourne, Australia
- Department of Surgery (Ophthalmology), The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Alan Nicol
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Rune Brautaset
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - David I Finkelstein
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Christine T O Nguyen
- Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - James R Tribble
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Pete A Williams
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
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Kim M, Kim JY, Rhim WK, Cimaglia G, Want A, Morgan JE, Williams PA, Park CG, Han DK, Rho S. Extracellular vesicle encapsulated nicotinamide delivered via a trans-scleral route provides retinal ganglion cell neuroprotection. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2024; 12:65. [PMID: 38649962 PMCID: PMC11036688 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-024-01777-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2024] [Accepted: 04/10/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024] Open
Abstract
The progressive and irreversible degeneration of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and their axons is the major characteristic of glaucoma, a leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) is a cofactor and metabolite of redox reaction critical for neuronal survival. Supplementation with nicotinamide (NAM), a precursor of NAD, can confer neuroprotective effects against glaucomatous damage caused by an age-related decline of NAD or mitochondrial dysfunction, reflecting the high metabolic activity of RGCs. However, oral supplementation of drug is relatively less efficient in terms of transmissibility to RGCs compared to direct delivery methods such as intraocular injection or delivery using subconjunctival depots. Neither method is ideal, given the risks of infection and subconjunctival scarring without novel techniques. By contrast, extracellular vesicles (EVs) have advantages as a drug delivery system with low immunogeneity and tissue interactions. We have evaluated the EV delivery of NAM as an RGC protective agent using a quantitative assessment of dendritic integrity using DiOlistics, which is confirmed to be a more sensitive measure of neuronal health in our mouse glaucoma model than the evaluation of somatic loss via the immunostaining method. NAM or NAM-loaded EVs showed a significant neuroprotective effect in the mouse retinal explant model. Furthermore, NAM-loaded EVs can penetrate the sclera once deployed in the subconjunctival space. These results confirm the feasibility of using subconjunctival injection of EVs to deliver NAM to intraocular targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Myungjin Kim
- Department of Ophthalmology, CHA Bundang Medical Center, CHA University, 59 Yatap-ro, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, 13496, Republic of Korea
| | - Jun Yong Kim
- Department of Biomedical Science, CHA University, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Intelligent Precision of Healthcare Convergence, SKKU Institute for Convergence, Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), Jangan-gu, Suwon-Si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Won-Kyu Rhim
- Department of Biomedical Science, CHA University, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Gloria Cimaglia
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Andrew Want
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - James E Morgan
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
- School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Pete A Williams
- Division of Eye and Vision, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Chun Gwon Park
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Intelligent Precision of Healthcare Convergence, SKKU Institute for Convergence, Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), Jangan-gu, Suwon-Si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Dong Keun Han
- Department of Biomedical Science, CHA University, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Seungsoo Rho
- Department of Ophthalmology, CHA Bundang Medical Center, CHA University, 59 Yatap-ro, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, 13496, Republic of Korea.
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Svensson JE, Bolin M, Thor D, Williams PA, Brautaset R, Carlsson M, Sörensson P, Marlevi D, Spin-Neto R, Probst M, Hagman G, Morén AF, Kivipelto M, Plavén-Sigray P. Evaluating the effect of rapamycin treatment in Alzheimer's disease and aging using in vivo imaging: the ERAP phase IIa clinical study protocol. BMC Neurol 2024; 24:111. [PMID: 38575854 PMCID: PMC10993488 DOI: 10.1186/s12883-024-03596-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2024] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/06/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Rapamycin is an inhibitor of the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) protein kinase, and preclinical data demonstrate that it is a promising candidate for a general gero- and neuroprotective treatment in humans. Results from mouse models of Alzheimer's disease have shown beneficial effects of rapamycin, including preventing or reversing cognitive deficits, reducing amyloid oligomers and tauopathies and normalizing synaptic plasticity and cerebral glucose uptake. The "Evaluating Rapamycin Treatment in Alzheimer's Disease using Positron Emission Tomography" (ERAP) trial aims to test if these results translate to humans through evaluating the change in cerebral glucose uptake following six months of rapamycin treatment in participants with early-stage Alzheimer's disease. METHODS ERAP is a six-month-long, single-arm, open-label, phase IIa biomarker-driven study evaluating if the drug rapamycin can be repurposed to treat Alzheimer's disease. Fifteen patients will be included and treated with a weekly dose of 7 mg rapamycin for six months. The primary endpoint will be change in cerebral glucose uptake, measured using [18F]FDG positron emission tomography. Secondary endpoints include changes in cognitive measures, markers in cerebrospinal fluid as well as cerebral blood flow measured using magnetic resonance imaging. As exploratory outcomes, the study will assess change in multiple age-related pathological processes, such as periodontal inflammation, retinal degeneration, bone mineral density loss, atherosclerosis and decreased cardiac function. DISCUSSION The ERAP study is a clinical trial using in vivo imaging biomarkers to assess the repurposing of rapamycin for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. If successful, the study would provide a strong rationale for large-scale evaluation of mTOR-inhibitors as a potential disease-modifying treatment in Alzheimer's disease. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT06022068, date of registration 2023-08-30.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonas E Svensson
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Centre for Psychiatry Research, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
- Theme Inflammation and Aging, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Martin Bolin
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Centre for Psychiatry Research, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Daniel Thor
- Department of Medical Radiation Physics and Nuclear Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Pete A Williams
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Rune Brautaset
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Marcus Carlsson
- Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Peder Sörensson
- Department of Medicine Solna, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - David Marlevi
- Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Rubens Spin-Neto
- Department of Dentistry and Oral Health, Section for Oral Radiology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Monika Probst
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, Klinikum Rechts Der Isar, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Göran Hagman
- Theme Inflammation and Aging, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences, and Society, Division of Clinical Geriatrics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Anton Forsberg Morén
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Centre for Psychiatry Research, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Miia Kivipelto
- Theme Inflammation and Aging, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences, and Society, Division of Clinical Geriatrics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Ageing Epidemiology Research Unit (AGE), School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Pontus Plavén-Sigray
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Centre for Psychiatry Research, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden.
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
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Otmani A, Jóhannesson G, Brautaset R, Tribble JR, Williams PA. Prophylactic nicotinamide treatment protects from rotenone-induced neurodegeneration by increasing mitochondrial content and volume. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2024; 12:37. [PMID: 38429841 PMCID: PMC10908050 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-024-01724-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 03/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) is driven by mtDNA mutations affecting Complex I presenting as progressive retinal ganglion cell dysfunction usually in the absence of extra-ophthalmic symptoms. There are no long-term neuroprotective agents for LHON. Oral nicotinamide provides a robust neuroprotective effect against mitochondrial and metabolic dysfunction in other retinal injuries. We explored the potential for nicotinamide to protect mitochondria in LHON by modelling the disease in mice through intravitreal injection of the Complex I inhibitor rotenone. Using MitoV mice expressing a mitochondrial-tagged YFP in retinal ganglion cells we assessed mitochondrial morphology through super-resolution imaging and digital reconstruction. Rotenone induced Complex I inhibition resulted in retinal ganglion cell wide mitochondrial loss and fragmentation. This was prevented by oral nicotinamide treatment. Mitochondrial ultrastructure was quantified by transition electron microscopy, demonstrating a loss of cristae density following rotenone injection, which was also prevented by nicotinamide treatment. These results demonstrate that nicotinamide protects mitochondria during Complex I dysfunction. Nicotinamide has the potential to be a useful treatment strategy for LHON to limit retinal ganglion cell degeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amin Otmani
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, 171 64, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Gauti Jóhannesson
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Ophthalmology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Wallenberg Centre of Molecular Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Department of Ophthalmology, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
| | - Rune Brautaset
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, 171 64, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - James R Tribble
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, 171 64, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Pete A Williams
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, 171 64, Stockholm, Sweden.
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Yamada K, Bixler B, Sakurai Y, Ashton PC, Sugiyama J, Arnold K, Begin J, Corbett L, Day-Weiss S, Galitzki N, Hill CA, Johnson BR, Jost B, Kusaka A, Koopman BJ, Lashner J, Lee AT, Mangu A, Nishino H, Page LA, Randall MJ, Sasaki D, Song X, Spisak J, Tsan T, Wang Y, Williams PA. The Simons Observatory: Cryogenic half wave plate rotation mechanism for the small aperture telescopes. Rev Sci Instrum 2024; 95:024504. [PMID: 38385955 DOI: 10.1063/5.0178066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Abstract
We present the requirements, design, and evaluation of the cryogenic continuously rotating half-wave plate (CHWP) for the Simons Observatory (SO). SO is a cosmic microwave background polarization experiment at Parque Astronómico de Atacama in northern Chile that covers a wide range of angular scales using both small (⌀0.42 m) and large (⌀6 m) aperture telescopes. In particular, the small aperture telescopes (SATs) focus on large angular scales for primordial B-mode polarization. To this end, the SATs employ a CHWP to modulate the polarization of the incident light at 8 Hz, suppressing atmospheric 1/f noise and mitigating systematic uncertainties that would otherwise arise due to the differential response of detectors sensitive to orthogonal polarizations. The CHWP consists of a 505 mm diameter achromatic sapphire HWP and a cryogenic rotation mechanism, both of which are cooled down to ∼50 K to reduce detector thermal loading. Under normal operation, the HWP is suspended by a superconducting magnetic bearing and rotates with a constant 2 Hz frequency, controlled by an electromagnetic synchronous motor. We find that the number of superconductors and the number of magnets that make up the superconducting magnetic bearing are important design parameters, especially for the rotation mechanism's vibration performance. The rotation angle is detected through an angular encoder with a noise level of 0.07 μrad s. During a cooldown process, the rotor is held in place by a grip-and-release mechanism that serves as both an alignment device and a thermal path. In this paper, we provide an overview of the SO SAT CHWP: its requirements, hardware design, and laboratory performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Yamada
- Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
| | - B Bixler
- Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
| | - Y Sakurai
- Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, Okayama 700-8530, Japan
- Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (WPI), UTIAS, The University of Tokyo, Chiba 277-8583, Japan
| | - P C Ashton
- Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (WPI), UTIAS, The University of Tokyo, Chiba 277-8583, Japan
- Physics Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
- Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - J Sugiyama
- Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
| | - K Arnold
- Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
| | - J Begin
- Joseph Henry Laboratories of Physics, Jadwin Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA
| | - L Corbett
- Physics Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
- Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - S Day-Weiss
- Joseph Henry Laboratories of Physics, Jadwin Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA
| | - N Galitzki
- Department of Physics, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78722, USA
- Weinberg Institute for Theoretical Physics, Texas Center for Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, Austin, Texas 78712, USA
| | - C A Hill
- Physics Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
- Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - B R Johnson
- Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22904, USA
| | - B Jost
- Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (WPI), UTIAS, The University of Tokyo, Chiba 277-8583, Japan
| | - A Kusaka
- Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
- Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (WPI), UTIAS, The University of Tokyo, Chiba 277-8583, Japan
- Physics Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - B J Koopman
- Wright Laboratory, Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA
| | - J Lashner
- Wright Laboratory, Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA
| | - A T Lee
- Physics Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
- Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - A Mangu
- Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - H Nishino
- Research Center for the Early Universe, School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
| | - L A Page
- Joseph Henry Laboratories of Physics, Jadwin Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA
| | - M J Randall
- Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
| | - D Sasaki
- Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
| | - X Song
- Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - J Spisak
- Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
| | - T Tsan
- Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
| | - Y Wang
- Joseph Henry Laboratories of Physics, Jadwin Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA
| | - P A Williams
- Physics Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
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Gustavsson ST, Enz TJ, Tribble JR, Nilsson M, Lindqvist A, Lindén C, Hagström A, Rutigliani C, Lardner E, Stålhammar G, Williams PA, Jóhannesson G. Nicotinamide Prevents Retinal Vascular Dropout in a Rat Model of Ocular Hypertension and Supports Ocular Blood Supply in Glaucoma Patients. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2023; 64:34. [PMID: 38010699 PMCID: PMC10683769 DOI: 10.1167/iovs.64.14.34] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Purpose To investigate whether nicotinamide (NAM) modulates retinal vasculature in glaucoma. Methods This was a prospective controlled clinical trial investigating animal and human histopathology. Participants included normotensive and ocular hypertensive rats, postmortem human ocular tissue, glaucoma patients (n = 90), and healthy controls (n = 30). The study utilized histopathology, computer-assisted retinal vasculature analysis, optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA), and NAM treatment. The main outcome measures included retinal vascular parameters in rats as assessed by AngioTool; retinal vasculature integrity in rats and humans as assessed by histopathology, antibody-staining, and ImageJ-based measurements; and retinal perfusion density (PD) and flux index in humans as assessed by OCTA. Results A number of vessel parameters were altered in ocular hypertension/glaucoma compared to healthy controls. NAM treatment improved the retinal vasculature in ocular hypertensive rats, with an increase in mean vessel area, percentage area covered by vessels, total vessel length, total junctions, and junction density as assessed by AngioTool (all P < 0.05); vessel wall integrity as assessed by VE-cadherin antibody staining was also improved (P < 0.01). In humans, as assessed by OCTA, increases in PD in the optic nerve head and macula complete image (0.7%, P = 0.04 and 1.0%, P = 0.002, respectively) in healthy controls, and an increase in the temporal quadrant of the macula (0.7%, P = 0.02) in glaucoma patients was seen after NAM treatment. Conclusions NAM can prevent retinal vascular damage in an animal model of glaucoma. After NAM treatment, glaucoma patients and healthy controls demonstrated a small increase in retinal vessel parameters as assessed by OCTA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon T. Gustavsson
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Ophthalmology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Tim J. Enz
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Ophthalmology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - James R. Tribble
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Mattias Nilsson
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Anna Lindqvist
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Ophthalmology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Christina Lindén
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Ophthalmology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Anna Hagström
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Carola Rutigliani
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Emma Lardner
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Gustav Stålhammar
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Pete A. Williams
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Gauti Jóhannesson
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Ophthalmology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Wallenberg Centre for Molecular Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Department of Ophthalmology, University of Iceland, Iceland
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Canovai A, Tribble JR, Jöe M, Westerlund DY, Amato R, Trounce IA, Dal Monte M, Williams PA. Pyrroloquinoline quinone drives ATP synthesis in vitro and in vivo and provides retinal ganglion cell neuroprotection. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2023; 11:146. [PMID: 37684640 PMCID: PMC10486004 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-023-01642-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2023] [Accepted: 08/23/2023] [Indexed: 09/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Retinal ganglion cells are highly metabolically active requiring strictly regulated metabolism and functional mitochondria to keep ATP levels in physiological range. Imbalances in metabolism and mitochondrial mechanisms can be sufficient to induce a depletion of ATP, thus altering retinal ganglion cell viability and increasing cell susceptibility to death under stress. Altered metabolism and mitochondrial abnormalities have been demonstrated early in many optic neuropathies, including glaucoma, autosomal dominant optic atrophy, and Leber hereditary optic neuropathy. Pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) is a quinone cofactor and is reported to have numerous effects on cellular and mitochondrial metabolism. However, the reported effects are highly context-dependent, indicating the need to study the mechanism of PQQ in specific systems. We investigated whether PQQ had a neuroprotective effect under different retinal ganglion cell stresses and assessed the effect of PQQ on metabolic and mitochondrial processes in cortical neuron and retinal ganglion cell specific contexts. We demonstrated that PQQ is neuroprotective in two models of retinal ganglion cell degeneration. We identified an increased ATP content in healthy retinal ganglion cell-related contexts both in in vitro and in vivo models. Although PQQ administration resulted in a moderate effect on mitochondrial biogenesis and content, a metabolic variation in non-diseased retinal ganglion cell-related tissues was identified after PQQ treatment. These results suggest the potential of PQQ as a novel neuroprotectant against retinal ganglion cell death.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessio Canovai
- Division of Eye and Vision, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - James R. Tribble
- Division of Eye and Vision, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Melissa Jöe
- Division of Eye and Vision, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Daniela Y. Westerlund
- Division of Eye and Vision, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Rosario Amato
- Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Ian A. Trounce
- Department of Surgery, Centre for Eye Research Australia, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, Ophthalmology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC Australia
| | | | - Pete A. Williams
- Division of Eye and Vision, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
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10
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Tribble JR, Hui F, Quintero H, El Hajji S, Bell K, Di Polo A, Williams PA. Neuroprotection in glaucoma: Mechanisms beyond intraocular pressure lowering. Mol Aspects Med 2023; 92:101193. [PMID: 37331129 DOI: 10.1016/j.mam.2023.101193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2023] [Revised: 05/25/2023] [Accepted: 06/04/2023] [Indexed: 06/20/2023]
Abstract
Glaucoma is a common, complex, multifactorial neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive dysfunction and then loss of retinal ganglion cells, the output neurons of the retina. Glaucoma is the most common cause of irreversible blindness and affects ∼80 million people worldwide with many more undiagnosed. The major risk factors for glaucoma are genetics, age, and elevated intraocular pressure. Current strategies only target intraocular pressure management and do not directly target the neurodegenerative processes occurring at the level of the retinal ganglion cell. Despite strategies to manage intraocular pressure, as many as 40% of glaucoma patients progress to blindness in at least one eye during their lifetime. As such, neuroprotective strategies that target the retinal ganglion cell and these neurodegenerative processes directly are of great therapeutic need. This review will cover the recent advances from basic biology to on-going clinical trials for neuroprotection in glaucoma covering degenerative mechanisms, metabolism, insulin signaling, mTOR, axon transport, apoptosis, autophagy, and neuroinflammation. With an increased understanding of both the basic and clinical mechanisms of the disease, we are closer than ever to a neuroprotective strategy for glaucoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- James R Tribble
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Flora Hui
- Centre for Eye Research Australia, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Optometry & Vision Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Heberto Quintero
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada; Neuroscience Division, Centre de recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CRCHUM), Montreal, Canada
| | - Sana El Hajji
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada; Neuroscience Division, Centre de recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CRCHUM), Montreal, Canada
| | - Katharina Bell
- NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, University of Sydney, Australia; Eye ACP Duke-NUS, Singapore
| | - Adriana Di Polo
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada; Neuroscience Division, Centre de recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CRCHUM), Montreal, Canada
| | - Pete A Williams
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
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11
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Herrspiegel C, Plastino F, Lardner E, Seregard S, Williams PA, André H, Stålhammar G. A serum protein signature at the time of Uveal Melanoma diagnosis predicts long-term patient survival. BMC Cancer 2023; 23:277. [PMID: 36973672 PMCID: PMC10044715 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-023-10757-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2022] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE To develop a prognostic test based on a single blood sample obtained at the time of uveal melanoma diagnosis. METHODS 83 patients diagnosed with posterior uveal melanoma between 1996 and 2000 were included. Peripheral serum samples were obtained at diagnosis and kept at -80 °C until this analysis. Protein profiling of 84 cancer-related proteins was used to screen for potential biomarkers and a prognostic test that stratifies patients into metastatic risk categories was developed (serUM-Px) in a training cohort and then tested in a validation cohort. RESULTS Low serum leptin levels and high osteopontin levels were found to identify patients with poor prognosis and were therefore selected for inclusion in the final test. In the validation cohort, patient sex and American Joint Committee on Cancer stages were similarly distributed between the low, intermediate, and high metastatic risk categories. With increasing metastatic risk category, patients had shorter metastasis-free- and overall survival, as well as greater cumulative incidence of uveal melanoma-related mortality in competing risk analysis (P = 0.007, 0.018 and 0.029, respectively). In multivariate Cox regression, serUM-Px was an independent predictor of metastasis with tumor size and patient sex as covariates (hazard ratio 3.2, 95% CI 1.5-6.9). CONCLUSIONS A prognostic test based on a single peripheral venous blood sample at the time of uveal melanoma diagnosis stratifies patients into low, intermediate, and high metastatic risk categories. Prospective validation will facilitate its clinical utility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Herrspiegel
- St. Erik Eye Hospital, Eugeniavägen 12, 4078, Stockholm, 171 64, Sweden
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, Karolinska Institutet, Tomtebodavägen 18A, Stockholm, 171 77, Sweden
| | - Flavia Plastino
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, Karolinska Institutet, Tomtebodavägen 18A, Stockholm, 171 77, Sweden
| | - Emma Lardner
- St. Erik Eye Hospital, Eugeniavägen 12, 4078, Stockholm, 171 64, Sweden
| | - Stefan Seregard
- St. Erik Eye Hospital, Eugeniavägen 12, 4078, Stockholm, 171 64, Sweden
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, Karolinska Institutet, Tomtebodavägen 18A, Stockholm, 171 77, Sweden
| | - Pete A Williams
- St. Erik Eye Hospital, Eugeniavägen 12, 4078, Stockholm, 171 64, Sweden
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, Karolinska Institutet, Tomtebodavägen 18A, Stockholm, 171 77, Sweden
| | - Helder André
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, Karolinska Institutet, Tomtebodavägen 18A, Stockholm, 171 77, Sweden
| | - Gustav Stålhammar
- St. Erik Eye Hospital, Eugeniavägen 12, 4078, Stockholm, 171 64, Sweden.
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, Karolinska Institutet, Tomtebodavägen 18A, Stockholm, 171 77, Sweden.
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12
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Tribble JR, Hagström A, Jusseaume K, Lardner E, Wong RCB, Stålhammar G, Williams PA. NAD salvage pathway machinery expression in normal and glaucomatous retina and optic nerve. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2023; 11:18. [PMID: 36681854 PMCID: PMC9867855 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-023-01513-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2022] [Accepted: 01/10/2023] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness and is a major health and economic burden. Current treatments do not address the neurodegenerative component of glaucoma. In animal models of glaucoma, the capacity to maintain retinal nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) pools declines early during disease pathogenesis. Treatment with nicotinamide, an NAD precursor through the NAD salvage pathway, robustly protects against neurodegeneration in a number of glaucoma models and improves vision in existing glaucoma patients. However, it remains unknown in humans what retinal cell types are able to process nicotinamide to NAD and how these are affected in glaucoma. To address this, we utilized publicly available RNA-sequencing data (bulk, single cell, and single nucleus) and antibody labelling in highly preserved enucleated human eyes to identify expression of NAD synthesizing enzyme machinery. This identifies that the neural retina favors expression of the NAD salvage pathway, and that retinal ganglion cells are particularly enriched for these enzymes. NMNAT2, a key terminal enzyme in the salvage pathway, is predominantly expressed in retinal ganglion cell relevant layers of the retina and declines in glaucoma. These findings suggest that human retinal ganglion cells can directly utilize nicotinamide and could maintain a capacity to do so in glaucoma, showing promise for ongoing clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- James R Tribble
- Division of Eye and Vision, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Anna Hagström
- Division of Eye and Vision, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Kenza Jusseaume
- Division of Eye and Vision, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Emma Lardner
- Division of Eye and Vision, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Raymond Ching-Bong Wong
- Centre for Eye Research Australia, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, Melbourne, Australia
- Department of Surgery (Ophthalmology), The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Gustav Stålhammar
- Division of Eye and Vision, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Pete A Williams
- Division of Eye and Vision, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
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13
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Nieuwenhuis B, Laperrousaz E, Tribble JR, Verhaagen J, Fawcett JW, Martin KR, Williams PA, Osborne A. Improving adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector-mediated transgene expression in retinal ganglion cells: comparison of five promoters. Gene Ther 2023:10.1038/s41434-022-00380-z. [PMID: 36635457 DOI: 10.1038/s41434-022-00380-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2022] [Revised: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 12/21/2022] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Recombinant adeno-associated viral vectors (AAVs) are an effective system for gene transfer. AAV serotype 2 (AAV2) is commonly used to deliver transgenes to retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) via intravitreal injection. The AAV serotype however is not the only factor contributing to the effectiveness of gene therapies. Promoters influence the strength and cell-selectivity of transgene expression. This study compares five promoters designed to maximise AAV2 cargo space for gene delivery: chicken β-actin (CBA), cytomegalovirus (CMV), short CMV early enhancer/chicken β-actin/short β-globulin intron (sCAG), mouse phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK), and human synapsin (SYN). The promoters driving enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) were examined in adult C57BL/6J mice eyes and tissues of the visual system. eGFP expression was strongest in the retina, optic nerves and brain when driven by the sCAG and SYN promoters. CBA, CMV, and PGK had moderate expression by comparison. The SYN promoter had almost exclusive transgene expression in RGCs. The PGK promoter had predominant expression in both RGCs and AII amacrine cells. The ubiquitous CBA, CMV, and sCAG promoters expressed eGFP in a variety of cell types across multiple retinal layers including Müller glia and astrocytes. We also found that these promoters could transduce human retina ex vivo, although expression was predominantly in glial cells due to low RGC viability. Taken together, this promoter comparison study contributes to optimising AAV-mediated transduction in the retina, and could be valuable for research in ocular disorders, particularly those with large or complex genetic cargos.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bart Nieuwenhuis
- John van Geest Centre for Brain Repair, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. .,Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0XY, UK.
| | - Elise Laperrousaz
- John van Geest Centre for Brain Repair, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - James R Tribble
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Joost Verhaagen
- Laboratory for Regeneration of Sensorimotor Systems, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Centre for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - James W Fawcett
- John van Geest Centre for Brain Repair, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Centre of Reconstructive Neuroscience, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Keith R Martin
- John van Geest Centre for Brain Repair, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Centre for Eye Research Australia, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.,Ophthalmology, Department of Surgery, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Pete A Williams
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Andrew Osborne
- John van Geest Centre for Brain Repair, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. .,Ikarovec Ltd, The Norwich Research Park Innovation Centre, Norwich, UK.
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14
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Enz TJ, Maloca PM, Tschopp M, Menke MN, Tribble JR, Williams PA, Inglin N, Steitz U, Scholl HPN, Papazoglou A. Volume-rendered optical coherence tomography angiography during ocular interventions: Advocating for noninvasive intraoperative retinal perfusion monitoring. J Biophotonics 2022; 15:e202200169. [PMID: 36089335 DOI: 10.1002/jbio.202200169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2022] [Accepted: 08/05/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
We aimed to test for feasibility of volume-rendered optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) as a novel method for assessing/quantifying retinal vasculature during ocular procedures and to explore the potential for intraoperative use. Thirty patients undergoing periocular anaesthesia were enrolled, since published evidence suggests a reduction in ocular blood flow. Retinal perfusion was monitored based on planar OCTA image-derived data provided by a standard quantification algorithm and postprocessed/volume-rendered OCTA data using a custom software script. Overall, imaging procedures were successful, yet imaging artifacts occurred frequently. In interventional eyes, perfusion parameters decreased during anaesthesia. Planar image-derived and volume rendering-derived parameters were correlated. No correlation was found between perfusion parameters and a motion artifact score developed for this study, yet all perfusion parameters correlated with signal strength as displayed by the device. Concluding, volume-rendered OCTA allows for noninvasive three-dimensional retinal vasculature assessment/quantification in challenging surgical settings and appears generally feasible for intraoperative use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tim J Enz
- Department of Ophthalmology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Ophthalmology, Cantonal Hospital Aarau, Aarau, Switzerland
| | - Peter M Maloca
- Department of Ophthalmology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Markus Tschopp
- Department of Ophthalmology, Cantonal Hospital Aarau, Aarau, Switzerland
- Department of Ophthalmology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Marcel N Menke
- Department of Ophthalmology, Cantonal Hospital Aarau, Aarau, Switzerland
- Department of Ophthalmology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - James R Tribble
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Pete A Williams
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Nadja Inglin
- Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Ulrike Steitz
- Department of Ophthalmology, Cantonal Hospital Aarau, Aarau, Switzerland
| | - Hendrik P N Scholl
- Department of Ophthalmology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Anthia Papazoglou
- Department of Ophthalmology, Cantonal Hospital Aarau, Aarau, Switzerland
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15
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Stålhammar G, Williams PA, Landelius T. The prognostic implication of latitude in uveal melanoma: a nationwide observational cohort study of all patients born in Sweden between 1947 and 1989. Discov Oncol 2022; 13:116. [PMID: 36310339 PMCID: PMC9618472 DOI: 10.1007/s12672-022-00584-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2022] [Accepted: 10/17/2022] [Indexed: 04/17/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The incidence of uveal melanoma increases with latitude. In this study, we examine the importance of latitude for uveal melanoma prognosis. METHODS All uveal melanoma patients born in Sweden between 1947 and 1990 were included (n = 745). The latitude of patients' birthplaces and home counties at the time of uveal melanoma diagnosis were collected. For all latitudes, data on sunlight and UV intensity parameters, temperature, daytime length variations, and socioeconomic factors were added. The prognostic implication of birthplace latitude and of moving > 1 degree of latitude was examined with multivariate Cox regressions and competing risk analyses. FINDINGS There were no significant differences in patient sex, age, tumor size, T-category, or BAP-1 immunoexpression between patients born in the south, central or northern regions of Sweden. Decreasing birthplace latitude was a predictor of uveal melanoma-related mortality in multivariate Cox regression. Patients that were born in southern regions or moved > 1 degree south between birth and diagnosis had higher incidence of uveal melanoma-related mortality in competing risk analysis. The sum of yearly sunshine hours, global sunlight radiation, average daily ultraviolet light intensity, average annual temperature, or net wealth were not predictors of uveal melanoma-related mortality. INTERPRETATION Latitude is a prognostic factor in uveal melanoma. This does not seem to be related to variations in patient or tumor characteristics at presentation, in management, in sunlight intensity, in ultraviolet light irradiance, in temperature, or in wealth. Future studies should examine if periodical changes in daylight hours or other factors could explain the prognostic implication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gustav Stålhammar
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Eugeniavägen 12, 171 64, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Pete A Williams
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Eugeniavägen 12, 171 64, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Tomas Landelius
- Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI), Norrköping, Sweden
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16
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Rutigliani C, Tribble JR, Hagström A, Lardner E, Jóhannesson G, Stålhammar G, Williams PA. Widespread retina and optic nerve neuroinflammation in enucleated eyes from glaucoma patients. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2022; 10:118. [PMID: 35986368 PMCID: PMC9392254 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-022-01427-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 08/10/2022] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Neuroinflammation is recognized as a key component of neurodegenerative disease. In glaucoma, a common neurodegenerative disease and the leading cause of irreversible blindness, the evidence for neuroinflammation in patients is lacking. Animal models have demonstrated significant pro-inflammatory activation of resident glia in the retina, as well as influx of blood-derived monocytes and pro-inflammatory factors. Confirmation of this in human donor tissue has been challenging due to a lack of well-preserved and well-characterized post-mortem tissue. To address this we utilize archived, wax embedded eyes fixed immediately following enucleation from living glaucoma patients. We compared glaucoma to control eyes (enucleated for uveal melanoma where the tumor did not impact the central retina or optic nerve). We performed immunolabelling for neurodegenerative and glial markers (CD45, CD163, IBA1, GFAP, Vimentin) which were quantified by high-resolution light microscopy and image analysis in FIJI. Glaucoma eyes demonstrated significant neural loss consistent with advanced neurodegeneration. IBA1 and GFAP were significantly increased in the retina and optic nerve head of the glaucomatous eyes indicating that significant neuroinflammation had occurred which support findings in animal models. Inflammation is a treatable symptom of many diseases and as such, identification of earlier inflammatory processes in glaucoma could be important for potential future treatment options.
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17
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Model MA, Williams PA, Marsh AE. Selective Visualization of Live Intestinal Parasites in Stool Specimens Without Purification. Acta Parasitol 2022; 67:1455-1459. [PMID: 35882825 DOI: 10.1007/s11686-022-00590-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2021] [Accepted: 07/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Microscopic observation of live parasites in the stool is an important diagnostic tool in human and veterinary medicine. Because of the presence of large amounts of contaminating organic matter, microscopic analysis must be preceded by time-consuming pre-purification steps. Transmission-through-dye (TTD) optical microscopy obviates this problem. The purpose of this study is to illustrate the use of TTD for the analysis of stool samples. METHODS TTD imaging is based on the exclusion of a strongly absorbing dye by living cells. A food colorant Acid Blue 9 (AB9) is added to a fecal suspension, and the sample is observed under transmitted illumination through a 630 nm bandpass filter. AB9 strongly absorbs red light, and it comes out of the sample significantly attenuated. However, if a viable cell of any origin is present in the sample, it excludes the dye and reduces the depth of the light-absorbing layer. RESULTS Live cells or eggs appear bright red on a dark background, while most of the organic contaminants remain dark. The method has been demonstrated on schistosomes, hookworms, giardia, yeast, and other organisms. CONCLUSION TTD dramatically increases the visibility of live parasites and permits their direct observation in a fecal suspension. TTD can be enabled on any microscope by simply adding a red filter.
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Affiliation(s)
- M A Model
- Department of Biological Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH, US.
| | | | - A E Marsh
- Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, US
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18
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Tribble JR, Kastanaki E, Uslular AB, Rutigliani C, Enz TJ, Williams PA. Valproic Acid Reduces Neuroinflammation to Provide Retinal Ganglion Cell Neuroprotection in the Retina Axotomy Model. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 10:903436. [PMID: 35646919 PMCID: PMC9135180 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2022.903436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2022] [Accepted: 04/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuroinflammation is a critical and targetable pathogenic component of neurodegenerative diseases, including glaucoma, the leading cause of irreversible blindness. Valproic acid has previously been demonstrated to reduce neuroinflammation and is neuroprotective in a number of experimental settings. To determine whether valproic acid can limit retinal neuroinflammation and protect retinal neurons we used an ex vivo retina explant (axotomy) model to isolate resident glial responses from blood-derived monocytes. Neuroinflammatory status was defined using high resolution confocal imaging with 3D morphological reconstruction and cytokine protein arrays. Valproic acid significantly reduced microglia and astrocyte morphological changes, consistent with a reduction in pro-inflammatory phenotypes. Cytokine profiling demonstrated that valproic acid significantly attenuated or prevented expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in injured retina. This identifies that the retinal explant model as a useful tool to explore resident neuroinflammation in a rapid timescale whilst maintaining a complex system of cell interactions and valproic acid as a useful drug to further explore anti-neuroinflammatory strategies in retinal disease.
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19
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Hagström A, Kal Omar R, Williams PA, Stålhammar G. The rationale for treating uveal melanoma with adjuvant melatonin: a review of the literature. BMC Cancer 2022; 22:398. [PMID: 35413810 PMCID: PMC9006630 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-022-09464-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2022] [Accepted: 03/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Uveal melanoma is a rare form of cancer with high mortality. The incidence of metastases is attributed to early seeding of micrometastases from the eye to distant organs, primarily the liver. Once these seeded clusters of dormant tumor cells grow into larger radiologically detectable macrometastases, median patient survival is about 1 year. Melatonin is an important hormone for synchronizing circadian rhythms. It is also involved in other aspects of human physiology and may offer therapeutic benefits for a variety of diseases including cancer. Methods Articles involving the physiological effects of melatonin, pharmacokinetics, and previous use in cancer studies were acquired using a comprehensive literature search in the Medline (PubMed) and Web of Science databases. In total, 147 publications were selected and included in the review. Results Melatonin has been observed to suppress the growth of cancer cells, inhibit metastatic spread, enhance immune system functions, and act as an anti-inflammatory in both in vitro and in vivo models. Melatonin may also enhance the efficacy of cancer treatments such as immuno- and chemotherapy. Numerous studies have shown promising results for oral melatonin supplementation in patients with other forms of cancer including cutaneous malignant melanoma. Cell line and animal studies support a hypothesis in which similar benefits may exist for uveal melanoma. Conclusions Given its low cost, good safety profile, and limited side effects, there may be potential for the use of melatonin as an adjuvant oncostatic treatment. Future avenues of research could include clinical trials to evaluate the effect of melatonin in prevention of macrometastases of uveal melanoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Hagström
- Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, D1:04, 171 76, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Ruba Kal Omar
- Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, D1:04, 171 76, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Pete A Williams
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, 171 64, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Gustav Stålhammar
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, 171 64, Stockholm, Sweden.,St. Erik Eye Hospital, Box 4078, 171 04, Stockholm, Sweden
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20
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Mouhammad ZA, Vohra R, Horwitz A, Thein AS, Rovelt J, Cvenkel B, Williams PA, Azuara-Blanco A, Kolko M. Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 Receptor Agonists – Potential Game Changers in the Treatment of Glaucoma? Front Neurosci 2022; 16:824054. [PMID: 35264926 PMCID: PMC8899005 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.824054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2021] [Accepted: 01/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Glaucoma is a common ocular neurodegenerative disease characterized by the progressive loss of retinal ganglion cells and their axons. It is the most common cause of irreversible blindness. With an increasing number of glaucoma patients and disease progression despite treatment, it is paramount to develop new and effective therapeutics. Emerging new candidates are the receptor agonists of the incretin hormone glucagon-like-peptide-1 (GLP-1), originally used for the treatment of diabetes. GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists have shown neuroprotective effects in preclinical and clinical studies on neurodegenerative diseases in both the brain (e.g., Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, stroke and diabetic neuropathy) and the eye (e.g., diabetic retinopathy and AMD). However, there are currently very few studies investigating the protective effects of GLP-1R agonists in the treatment of specifically glaucoma. Based on a literature search on PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov, this review aims to summarize current clinical literature on GLP-1 receptor agonists in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases to elucidate their potential in future anti-glaucomatous treatment strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zaynab Ahmad Mouhammad
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Rupali Vohra
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Anna Horwitz
- Department of Ophthalmology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Glostrup, Denmark
| | - Anna-Sophie Thein
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jens Rovelt
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Barbara Cvenkel
- Department of Ophthalmology, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Medical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Pete A. Williams
- Division of Eye and Vision, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Miriam Kolko
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Ophthalmology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Glostrup, Denmark
- *Correspondence: Miriam Kolko,
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21
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Enz TJ, Bittner M, Tribble JR, Williams PA, Thiel MA, Schmid MK, Bachmann LM, Bochmann F. Comparative Assessment of Retinal Blood Flow Velocity Changes Following Brimonidine and Brinzolamide Administration Using Retinal Function Imaging. Transl Vis Sci Technol 2022; 11:1. [PMID: 35103799 PMCID: PMC8819484 DOI: 10.1167/tvst.11.2.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose Impaired ocular blood flow has been associated with the etiopathogenesis of glaucoma. Topical brimonidine lowers intraocular pressure, a major glaucoma risk factor. However, brimonidine's influence on retinal blood flow remains to be fully elucidated. Our aim was to compare the effect of topical brimonidine and brinzolamide administration on retinal blood flow velocity in second and third order vessels in healthy adults using the retinal function imager. Methods In 10 healthy probands between 23 and 32 years of age, one eye was randomly selected to receive 2 treatment rounds with 3 single doses of brimonidine 2 mg/mL and brinzolamide 10 mg/mL at 12-hour intervals each. The fellow eyes served as intra-individual controls. Immediately before the first drop and 2 hours after the last drop of each treatment round, all subjects were examined, including Goldmann tonometry, Pascal tonometry, assessment of retinal blood flow velocity using the retinal function imager, as well as blood pressure and pulse measurements. Results Intraocular pressure decreased significantly in treated eyes while remaining stable in control eyes, indicating reliable application of brimonidine and brinzolamide drops. In contrast, retinal blood flow velocities did not demonstrate any significant differences between groups after both treatment rounds. Conclusions Neither brimonidine nor brinzolamide appear to alter retinal blood flow velocity in a clinically relevant manner. The slight velocity changes detected in our study are likely physiologic fluctuations. Our findings do not support the rationale of a detrimental effect of topical brimonidine on ocular blood flow and hence brimonidine may be further administered for lowering intraocular pressure with the appropriate caution. However, our study is strongly limited by the small sample size and, thus, further research with larger cohorts of healthy volunteers and patients with glaucoma is needed to confirm the results. Translational Relevance The study provides information about the effect of the topically administered antiglaucoma medications brimonidine and brinzolamide on the ocular blood flow and its regulation. The findings indicate that beside the lowering of IOP there is no evidence for an additional effect on the development of glaucoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tim J Enz
- Department of Ophthalmology, Cantonal Hospital Lucerne, Lucerne, Switzerland.,Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Mario Bittner
- Department of Ophthalmology, Cantonal Hospital Lucerne, Lucerne, Switzerland
| | - James R Tribble
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Pete A Williams
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Michael A Thiel
- Department of Ophthalmology, Cantonal Hospital Lucerne, Lucerne, Switzerland
| | - Martin K Schmid
- Department of Ophthalmology, Cantonal Hospital Lucerne, Lucerne, Switzerland
| | - Lucas M Bachmann
- Department of Ophthalmology, Cantonal Hospital Lucerne, Lucerne, Switzerland
| | - Frank Bochmann
- Department of Ophthalmology, Cantonal Hospital Lucerne, Lucerne, Switzerland
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22
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De Moraes CG, John SWM, Williams PA, Blumberg DM, Cioffi GA, Liebmann JM. Nicotinamide and Pyruvate for Neuroenhancement in Open-Angle Glaucoma: A Phase 2 Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Ophthalmol 2021; 140:11-18. [PMID: 34792559 DOI: 10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2021.4576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Importance Open-angle glaucoma may continue to progress despite significant lowering of intraocular pressure (IOP). Preclinical research has suggested that enhancing mitochondrial function and energy production may enhance retinal ganglion cell survival in animal models of glaucoma, but there is scant information on its effectiveness in a clinical setting. Objective To test the hypothesis that a combination of nicotinamide and pyruvate can improve retinal ganglion cell function in human glaucoma as measured with standard automated perimetry. Design, Setting, and Participants In this phase 2, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial at a single academic institution, 197 patients were assessed for eligibility. Of these, 42 patients with treated open-angle glaucoma and moderate visual field loss in at least 1 eye were selected for inclusion and randomized. A total of 32 completed the study and were included in the final analysis. The mean (SD) age was 64.6 (9.8) years. Twenty-one participants (66%) were female. Participant race and ethnicity data were collected via self-report to ensure the distribution reflected that observed in clinical practice in the US but are not reported here to protect patient privacy. Recruitment took place in April 2019 and patients were monitored through December 2020. Data were analyzed from January to May 2021. Interventions Ascending oral doses of nicotinamide (1000 to 3000 mg) and pyruvate (1500 to 3000 mg) vs placebo (2:1 randomization). Main Outcomes and Measures Number of visual field test locations improving beyond normal variability in the study eye. Secondary end points were the rates of change of visual field global indices (mean deviation [MD], pattern standard deviation [PSD], and visual field index [VFI]). Results Twenty-two of 29 participants (76%) randomized to the intervention group and 12 of 13 participants (92%) randomized to placebo received their allocation, and 32 participants (32 eyes; ratio 21:11) completed the study (21 from the intervention group and 11 from the placebo group). Median (IQR) follow-up time was 2.2 (2.0-2.4) months. No serious adverse events were reported during the study. The number of improving test locations was significantly higher in the treatment group than in the placebo group (median [IQR], 15 [6-25] vs 7 [6-11]; P = .005). Rates of change of PSD suggested improvement with treatment compared with placebo (median, -0.06 vs 0.02 dB per week; 95% CI, 0.02 to 0.24; P = .02) but not MD (0.04 vs -0.002 dB per week; 95% CI, -0.27 to 0.09; P = .35) or VFI (0.09 vs -0.02% per week; 95% CI, -0.53 to 0.36; P = .71). Conclusions and Relevance A combination of nicotinamide and pyruvate yielded significant short-term improvement in visual function, supporting prior experimental research suggesting a role for these agents in neuroprotection for individuals with glaucoma and confirming the need for long-term studies to establish their usefulness in slowing progression. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03797469.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Gustavo De Moraes
- Bernard and Shirlee Brown Glaucoma Research Laboratory, Department of Ophthalmology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York
| | - Simon W M John
- Bernard and Shirlee Brown Glaucoma Research Laboratory, Department of Ophthalmology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Maryland.,Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | - Pete A Williams
- Division of Eye and Vision, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, St Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Dana M Blumberg
- Bernard and Shirlee Brown Glaucoma Research Laboratory, Department of Ophthalmology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York
| | - George A Cioffi
- Bernard and Shirlee Brown Glaucoma Research Laboratory, Department of Ophthalmology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York
| | - Jeffrey M Liebmann
- Bernard and Shirlee Brown Glaucoma Research Laboratory, Department of Ophthalmology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York
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23
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Enz TJ, Tribble JR, Williams PA. Comparison of Glaucoma-Relevant Transcriptomic Datasets Identifies Novel Drug Targets for Retinal Ganglion Cell Neuroprotection. J Clin Med 2021; 10:3938. [PMID: 34501387 PMCID: PMC8432026 DOI: 10.3390/jcm10173938] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2021] [Revised: 08/10/2021] [Accepted: 08/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness and is characterized by the progressive dysfunction and irreversible death of retinal ganglion cells. We aimed to identify shared differentially expressed genes (DE genes) between different glaucoma relevant models of retinal ganglion cell injury using existing RNA-sequencing data, thereby discovering targets for neuroprotective therapies. A comparison of DE genes from publicly available transcriptomic datasets identified 12 shared DE genes. The Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD) was screened for compounds targeting a significant proportion of the identified DE genes. Forty compounds were identified in the CTD that interact with >50% of these shared DE genes. We next validated this approach by testing select compounds for an effect on retinal ganglion cell survival using a mouse retinal explant model. Folic acid, genistein, SB-431542, valproic acid, and WY-14643 (pirinixic acid) were tested. Folic acid, valproic acid, and WY-14643 demonstrated significant protection against retinal ganglion cell death in this model. The increasing prevalence of open access-omics data presents a resource to discover targets for future therapeutic investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Pete A. Williams
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, 171 64 Stockholm, Sweden; (T.J.E.); (J.R.T.)
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24
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Tribble JR, Otmani A, Sun S, Ellis SA, Cimaglia G, Vohra R, Jöe M, Lardner E, Venkataraman AP, Domínguez-Vicent A, Kokkali E, Rho S, Jóhannesson G, Burgess RW, Fuerst PG, Brautaset R, Kolko M, Morgan JE, Crowston JG, Votruba M, Williams PA. Nicotinamide provides neuroprotection in glaucoma by protecting against mitochondrial and metabolic dysfunction. Redox Biol 2021; 43:101988. [PMID: 33932867 PMCID: PMC8103000 DOI: 10.1016/j.redox.2021.101988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2021] [Revised: 04/06/2021] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) is a REDOX cofactor and metabolite essential for neuronal survival. Glaucoma is a common neurodegenerative disease in which neuronal levels of NAD decline. We assess the effects of nicotinamide (a precursor to NAD) on retinal ganglion cells (the affected neuron in glaucoma) in normal physiological conditions and across a range of glaucoma relevant insults including mitochondrial stress and axon degenerative insults. We demonstrate retinal ganglion cell somal, axonal, and dendritic neuroprotection by nicotinamide in rodent models which represent isolated ocular hypertensive, axon degenerative, and mitochondrial degenerative insults. We performed metabolomics enriched for small molecular weight metabolites for the retina, optic nerve, and superior colliculus which demonstrates that ocular hypertension induces widespread metabolic disruption, including consistent changes to α-ketoglutaric acid, creatine/creatinine, homocysteine, and glycerophosphocholine. This metabolic disruption is prevented by nicotinamide. Nicotinamide provides further neuroprotective effects by increasing oxidative phosphorylation, buffering and preventing metabolic stress, and increasing mitochondrial size and motility whilst simultaneously dampening action potential firing frequency. These data support continued determination of the utility of long-term nicotinamide treatment as a neuroprotective therapy for human glaucoma. Nicotinamide is neuroprotective in cell and animal models that recapitulate isolated features of glaucoma. Systemic nicotinamide administration has limited molecular side-effects on visual system tissue under basal conditions. Nicotinamide provides a robust reversal in the disease metabolic profile of glaucomatous animals. Nicotinamide increases oxidative phosphorylation, buffers and prevents metabolic stress, and increases mitochondrial size.
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Affiliation(s)
- James R Tribble
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Amin Otmani
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Shanshan Sun
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
| | - Sevannah A Ellis
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
| | - Gloria Cimaglia
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
| | - Rupali Vohra
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Pathobiological Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Eye Translational Research Unit, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
| | - Melissa Jöe
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Emma Lardner
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Abinaya P Venkataraman
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Alberto Domínguez-Vicent
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Eirini Kokkali
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
| | - Seungsoo Rho
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK; Department of Ophthalmology, CHA Bundang Medical Center, CHA University, Seongnam, Republic of Korea.
| | - Gauti Jóhannesson
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Ophthalmology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden; Wallenberg Centre of Molecular Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
| | | | - Peter G Fuerst
- WWAMI Medical Education Program, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA.
| | - Rune Brautaset
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Miriam Kolko
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Eye Translational Research Unit, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Ophthalmology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet-Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark.
| | - James E Morgan
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK; Cardiff Eye Unit, University Hospital Wales, Cardiff, UK; School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
| | - Jonathan G Crowston
- Centre for Eye Research Australia, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, Melbourne, Australia; Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore, Singapore; Centre for Vision Research, Neuroscience and Behavioural Disorders, Duke-NUS, Singapore, Singapore.
| | - Marcela Votruba
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK; Cardiff Eye Unit, University Hospital Wales, Cardiff, UK.
| | - Pete A Williams
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
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25
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Tribble JR, Hui F, Jöe M, Bell K, Chrysostomou V, Crowston JG, Williams PA. Targeting Diet and Exercise for Neuroprotection and Neurorecovery in Glaucoma. Cells 2021; 10:295. [PMID: 33535578 PMCID: PMC7912764 DOI: 10.3390/cells10020295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2020] [Revised: 01/15/2021] [Accepted: 01/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness worldwide. In glaucoma, a progressive dysfunction and death of retinal ganglion cells occurs, eliminating transfer of visual information to the brain. Currently, the only available therapies target the lowering of intraocular pressure, but many patients continue to lose vision. Emerging pre-clinical and clinical evidence suggests that metabolic deficiencies and defects may play an important role in glaucoma pathophysiology. While pre-clinical studies in animal models have begun to mechanistically uncover these metabolic changes, some existing clinical evidence already points to potential benefits in maintaining metabolic fitness. Modifying diet and exercise can be implemented by patients as an adjunct to intraocular pressure lowering, which may be of therapeutic benefit to retinal ganglion cells in glaucoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- James R. Tribble
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, 171 64 Stockholm, Sweden; (J.R.T.); (M.J.)
| | - Flora Hui
- Centre for Eye Research Australia, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, Melbourne, VIC 3002, Australia; (F.H.); (J.G.C.)
- Department of Optometry & Vision Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3053, Australia
| | - Melissa Jöe
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, 171 64 Stockholm, Sweden; (J.R.T.); (M.J.)
| | - Katharina Bell
- Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore 168751, Singapore; (K.B.); (V.C.)
| | - Vicki Chrysostomou
- Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore 168751, Singapore; (K.B.); (V.C.)
- Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore 169857, Singapore
| | - Jonathan G. Crowston
- Centre for Eye Research Australia, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, Melbourne, VIC 3002, Australia; (F.H.); (J.G.C.)
- Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore 168751, Singapore; (K.B.); (V.C.)
- Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore 169857, Singapore
| | - Pete A. Williams
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, 171 64 Stockholm, Sweden; (J.R.T.); (M.J.)
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26
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Tribble JR, Otmani A, Kokkali E, Lardner E, Morgan JE, Williams PA. Retinal Ganglion Cell Degeneration in a Rat Magnetic Bead Model of Ocular Hypertensive Glaucoma. Transl Vis Sci Technol 2021; 10:21. [PMID: 33510960 PMCID: PMC7804499 DOI: 10.1167/tvst.10.1.21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2020] [Accepted: 12/02/2020] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Purpose Glaucoma remains a leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. Animal glaucoma models replicate high intraocular pressure, a risk factor for glaucoma, to induce retinal ganglion cell (RGC) degeneration. We describe an inducible, magnetic bead model in the Brown Norway rat in which we are able to determine degeneration across multiple RGC compartments at a time point that is appropriate for investigating neurodegenerative events and potential treatment effects. Methods We induced ocular hypertension through injection of magnetic microspheres into the anterior chamber of Brown Norway rats; un-operated (naïve) rats served as controls. Intraocular pressure was recorded, and eye diameter measurements were taken before surgery and at the terminal end points. We assessed RGC degeneration and vascular changes through immunofluorescence, and axon transport to terminal brain thalami through intravitreal injection of fluorophore-conjugated cholera toxin subunit β. Results We observed clinically relevant features of disease accompanying RGC cell somal, axonal, and dendritic loss. RGC axonal dysfunction persisted along the trajectory of the cell into the terminal brain thalami, with clear disruption at the optic nerve head. We also observed vascular compromise consistent with human disease, as well as an expansion of global eye size with ocular hypertension. Conclusions The magnetic bead model in the Brown Norway rat recapitulates many clinically relevant disease features of human glaucoma, including degeneration across multiple RGC compartments. Eye expansion is likely a result of rodent scleral elasticity, and we caution that this should be considered when assessing retinal density measurements. Translational Relevance This model offers a disease-relevant platform that will allow for assessment of glaucoma-relevant therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- James R Tribble
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Amin Otmani
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Eirini Kokkali
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK
| | - Emma Lardner
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - James E Morgan
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK.,School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK
| | - Pete A Williams
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
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27
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Tribble JR, Kokkali E, Otmani A, Plastino F, Lardner E, Vohra R, Kolko M, André H, Morgan JE, Williams PA. When Is a Control Not a Control? Reactive Microglia Occur Throughout the Control Contralateral Pathway of Retinal Ganglion Cell Projections in Experimental Glaucoma. Transl Vis Sci Technol 2021; 10:22. [PMID: 33510961 PMCID: PMC7804521 DOI: 10.1167/tvst.10.1.22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2020] [Accepted: 12/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose Animal models show retinal ganglion cell (RGC) injuries that replicate features of glaucoma and the contralateral eye is commonly used as an internal control. There is significant crossover of RGC axons from the ipsilateral to the contralateral side at the level of the optic chiasm, which may confound findings when damage is restricted to one eye. The effect of unilateral glaucoma on neuroinflammatory damage to the contralateral pathway of RGC projections has largely been unexplored. Methods Ocular hypertensive glaucoma was induced unilaterally or bilaterally in the rat and RGC neurodegenerative events were assessed. Neuroinflammation was quantified in the retina, optic nerve head, optic nerve, lateral geniculate nucleus, and superior colliculus by high-resolution imaging, and in the retina by flow cytometry and protein arrays. Results After ocular hypertensive stress, peripheral monocytes enter the retina and microglia become reactive. This effect is more marked in animals with bilateral ocular hypertensive glaucoma. In rats where glaucoma was induced unilaterally, there was significant microglia activation in the contralateral (control) eye. Microglial activation extended into the optic nerve and terminal visual thalami, where it was similar across hemispheres in unilateral ocular hypertension. Conclusions These data suggest that caution is warranted when using the contralateral eye as a control and in comparing visual thalami in unilateral models of glaucoma. Translational Relevance The use of a contralateral eye as a control may confound the discovery of human-relevant mechanism and treatments in animal models. We also identify neuroinflammatory protein responses that warrant further investigation as potential disease-modifiable targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- James R. Tribble
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Eirini Kokkali
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK
| | - Amin Otmani
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Flavia Plastino
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Emma Lardner
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Rupali Vohra
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Pathobiological Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Miriam Kolko
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Ophthalmology, Rigshospitalet-Glostrup, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Helder André
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - James E. Morgan
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK
- School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK
| | - Pete A. Williams
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
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28
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Bevan RJ, Hughes TR, Williams PA, Good MA, Morgan BP, Morgan JE. Retinal ganglion cell degeneration correlates with hippocampal spine loss in experimental Alzheimer's disease. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2020; 8:216. [PMID: 33287900 PMCID: PMC7720390 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-020-01094-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2020] [Accepted: 11/23/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Neuronal dendritic and synaptic pruning are early features of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease. In addition to brain pathology, amyloid plaque deposition, microglial activation, and cell loss occur in the retinas of human patients and animal models of Alzheimer’s disease. Retinal ganglion cells, the output neurons of the retina, are vulnerable to damage in neurodegenerative diseases and are a potential opportunity for non-invasive clinical diagnosis and monitoring of Alzheimer’s progression. However, the extent of retinal involvement in Alzheimer’s models and how well this reflects brain pathology is unclear. Here we have quantified changes in retinal ganglion cells dendritic structure and hippocampal dendritic spines in three well-studied Alzheimer’s mouse models, Tg2576, 3xTg-AD and APPNL-G-F. Dendritic complexity of DiOlistically labelled retinal ganglion cells from retinal explants was reduced in all three models in an age-, gender-, and receptive field-dependent manner. DiOlistically labelled hippocampal slices showed spine loss in CA1 apical dendrites in all three Alzheimer’s models, mirroring the early stages of neurodegeneration as seen in the retina. Morphological classification showed that loss of thin spines predominated in all. The demonstration that retinal ganglion cells dendritic field reduction occurs in parallel with hippocampal dendritic spine loss in all three Alzheimer’s models provide compelling support for the use of retinal neurodegeneration. As retinal dendritic changes are within the optical range of current clinical imaging systems (for example optical coherence tomography), our study makes a case for imaging the retina as a non-invasive way to diagnose disease and monitor progression in Alzheimer’s disease.
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Harder JM, Williams PA, Braine CE, Yang HS, Thomas JM, Foxworth NE, John SWM, Howell GR. Complement peptide C3a receptor 1 promotes optic nerve degeneration in DBA/2J mice. J Neuroinflammation 2020; 17:336. [PMID: 33176797 PMCID: PMC7656757 DOI: 10.1186/s12974-020-02011-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 10/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The risk of glaucoma increases significantly with age and exposure to elevated intraocular pressure, two factors linked with neuroinflammation. The complement cascade is a complex immune process with many bioactive end-products, including mediators of inflammation. Complement cascade activation has been shown in glaucoma patients and models of glaucoma. However, the function of complement-mediated inflammation in glaucoma is largely untested. Here, the complement peptide C3a receptor 1 was genetically disrupted in DBA/2J mice, an ocular hypertensive model of glaucoma, to test its contribution to neurodegeneration. METHODS A null allele of C3ar1 was backcrossed into DBA/2J mice. Development of iris disease, ocular hypertension, optic nerve degeneration, retinal ganglion cell activity, loss of RGCs, and myeloid cell infiltration in C3ar1-deficient and sufficient DBA/2J mice were compared across multiple ages. RNA sequencing was performed on microglia from primary culture to determine global effects of C3ar1 on microglia gene expression. RESULTS Deficiency in C3ar1 lowered the risk of degeneration in ocular hypertensive mice without affecting intraocular pressure elevation at 10.5 months of age. Differences were found in the percentage of mice affected, but not in individual characteristics of disease progression. The protective effect of C3ar1 deficiency was then overcome by additional aging and ocular hypertensive injury. Microglia and other myeloid-derived cells were the primary cells identified that express C3ar1. In the absence of C3ar1, microglial expression of genes associated with neuroinflammation and other immune functions were differentially expressed compared to WT. A network analysis of these data suggested that the IL10 signaling pathway is a major interaction partner of C3AR1 signaling in microglia. CONCLUSIONS C3AR1 was identified as a damaging neuroinflammatory factor. These data help suggest complement activation causes glaucomatous neurodegeneration through multiple mechanisms, including inflammation. Microglia and infiltrating myeloid cells expressed high levels of C3ar1 and are the primary candidates to mediate its effects. C3AR1 appeared to be a major regulator of microglia reactivity and neuroinflammatory function due to its interaction with IL10 signaling and other immune related pathways. Targeting myeloid-derived cells and C3AR1 signaling with therapies is expected to add to or improve neuroprotective therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Pete A Williams
- The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, USA
- Division of Eye and Vision, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Catherine E Braine
- The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, USA
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | | | | | | | - Simon W M John
- The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, USA.
- Department of Ophthalmology, Tufts University of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Columbia University Medical Center, and Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Gareth R Howell
- The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, USA.
- Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
- Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Engineering, University of Maine, Orono, ME, USA.
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30
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Cimaglia G, Votruba M, Morgan JE, André H, Williams PA. Potential Therapeutic Benefit of NAD + Supplementation for Glaucoma and Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Nutrients 2020; 12:nu12092871. [PMID: 32961812 PMCID: PMC7551676 DOI: 10.3390/nu12092871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2020] [Revised: 09/14/2020] [Accepted: 09/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration are leading causes of irreversible blindness worldwide with significant health and societal burdens. To date, no clinical cures are available and treatments target only the manageable symptoms and risk factors (but do not remediate the underlying pathology of the disease). Both diseases are neurodegenerative in their pathology of the retina and as such many of the events that trigger cell dysfunction, degeneration, and eventual loss are due to mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation, and oxidative stress. Here, we critically review how a decreased bioavailability of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD; a crucial metabolite in healthy and disease states) may underpin many of these aberrant mechanisms. We propose how exogenous sources of NAD may become a therapeutic standard for the treatment of these conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gloria Cimaglia
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, 112 82 Stockholm, Sweden;
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF24 4HQ, Wales, UK; (M.V.); (J.E.M.)
| | - Marcela Votruba
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF24 4HQ, Wales, UK; (M.V.); (J.E.M.)
- Cardiff Eye Unit, University Hospital Wales, Cardiff CF14 4XW, Wales, UK
| | - James E. Morgan
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF24 4HQ, Wales, UK; (M.V.); (J.E.M.)
- School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF14 4YS, Wales, UK
| | - Helder André
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, 112 82 Stockholm, Sweden;
- Correspondence: (H.A.); (P.A.W.)
| | - Pete A. Williams
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, 112 82 Stockholm, Sweden;
- Correspondence: (H.A.); (P.A.W.)
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Hui F, Tang J, Williams PA, McGuinness MB, Hadoux X, Casson RJ, Coote M, Trounce IA, Martin KR, Wijngaarden P, Crowston JG. Improvement in inner retinal function in glaucoma with nicotinamide (vitamin
B3
) supplementation: A crossover randomized clinical trial. Clin Exp Ophthalmol 2020; 48:903-914. [DOI: 10.1111/ceo.13818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2020] [Revised: 06/08/2020] [Accepted: 06/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Flora Hui
- Centre for Eye Research Australia, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital Melbourne Australia
| | - Jessica Tang
- Centre for Eye Research Australia, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital Melbourne Australia
- Ophthalmology, Department of Surgery University of Melbourne Melbourne Australia
| | - Pete A. Williams
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet Stockholm Sweden
| | - Myra B. McGuinness
- Centre for Eye Research Australia, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital Melbourne Australia
| | - Xavier Hadoux
- Centre for Eye Research Australia, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital Melbourne Australia
| | - Robert J. Casson
- Ophthalmic Research Laboratories, Discipline of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences University of Adelaide Adelaide Australia
| | - Michael Coote
- Centre for Eye Research Australia, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital Melbourne Australia
- Ophthalmology, Department of Surgery University of Melbourne Melbourne Australia
| | - Ian A. Trounce
- Centre for Eye Research Australia, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital Melbourne Australia
- Ophthalmology, Department of Surgery University of Melbourne Melbourne Australia
| | - Keith R. Martin
- Centre for Eye Research Australia, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital Melbourne Australia
- Ophthalmology, Department of Surgery University of Melbourne Melbourne Australia
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences University of Cambridge Cambridge UK
| | - Peter Wijngaarden
- Centre for Eye Research Australia, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital Melbourne Australia
- Ophthalmology, Department of Surgery University of Melbourne Melbourne Australia
| | - Jonathan G. Crowston
- Centre for Eye Research Australia, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital Melbourne Australia
- Ophthalmology, Department of Surgery University of Melbourne Melbourne Australia
- Centre for Vision Research Duke‐NUS Medical School Singapore Singapore
- Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre Singapore Singapore
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32
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Bevan RJ, Williams PA, Waters CT, Thirgood R, Mui A, Seto S, Good M, Morgan JE, Votruba M, Erchova I. OPA1 deficiency accelerates hippocampal synaptic remodelling and age-related deficits in learning and memory. Brain Commun 2020; 2:fcaa101. [PMID: 33094281 PMCID: PMC7566495 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcaa101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2019] [Revised: 04/09/2020] [Accepted: 05/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
A healthy mitochondrial network is essential for the maintenance of neuronal synaptic integrity. Mitochondrial and metabolic dysfunction contributes to the pathogenesis of many neurodegenerative diseases including dementia. OPA1 is the master regulator of mitochondrial fusion and fission and is likely to play an important role during neurodegenerative events. To explore this, we quantified hippocampal dendritic and synaptic integrity and the learning and memory performance of aged Opa1 haploinsufficient mice carrying the Opa1Q285X mutation (B6; C3-Opa1Q285STOP ; Opa1+/- ). We demonstrate that heterozygous loss of Opa1 results in premature age-related loss of spines in hippocampal pyramidal CA1 neurons and a reduction in synaptic density in the hippocampus. This loss is associated with subtle memory deficits in both spatial novelty and object recognition. We hypothesize that metabolic failure to maintain normal neuronal activity at the level of a single spine leads to premature age-related memory deficits. These results highlight the importance of mitochondrial homeostasis for maintenance of neuronal function during ageing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan J Bevan
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Maindy Rd, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK
| | - Pete A Williams
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Polhemsgatan 50, 112 82 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Caroline T Waters
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Maindy Rd, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK
| | - Rebecca Thirgood
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Maindy Rd, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK
| | - Amanda Mui
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Maindy Rd, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK
| | - Sharon Seto
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Maindy Rd, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK
| | - Mark Good
- School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Tower Building, 70 Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, UK
| | - James E Morgan
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Maindy Rd, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK
| | - Marcela Votruba
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Maindy Rd, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK
| | - Irina Erchova
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Maindy Rd, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK
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33
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Tribble JR, Harder JM, Williams PA, John SWM. Ocular hypertension suppresses homeostatic gene expression in optic nerve head microglia of DBA/2 J mice. Mol Brain 2020; 13:81. [PMID: 32450896 PMCID: PMC7249412 DOI: 10.1186/s13041-020-00603-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2019] [Accepted: 04/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible vision loss. Ocular hypertension is a major risk factor for glaucoma and recent work has demonstrated critical early neuroinflammatory insults occur in the optic nerve head following ocular hypertension. Microglia and infiltrating monocytes are likely candidates to drive these neuroinflammatory insults. However, the exact molecular identity / transcriptomic profile of microglia following ocular hypertensive insults is unknown. To elucidate the molecular identity of microglia after long-term exposure to ocular hypertension, we used a mouse model of glaucoma (DBA/2 J). We performed RNA-sequencing of microglia mRNA from the optic nerve head at a time point following ocular hypertensive insults, but preceding detectable neurodegeneration (with microglia identified as being CD45lo/CD11b+/CD11c−). Furthermore, RNA-sequencing was performed on optic nerve head microglia from mice treated with radiation therapy, a potent therapy preventing neuroinflammatory insults. Transcriptomic profiling of optic nerve head microglia mRNA identifies metabolic priming with marked changes in mitochondrial gene expression, and changes to phagocytosis, inflammatory, and sensome pathways. The data predict that many functions of microglia that help maintain tissue homeostasis are affected. Comparative analysis of these data with data from previously published whole optic nerve head tissue or monocyte-only samples from DBA/2 J mice demonstrate that many of the neuroinflammatory signatures in these data sets arise from infiltrating monocytes and not reactive microglia. Finally, our data demonstrate that prophylactic radiation therapy of DBA/2 J mice potently abolishes these microglia metabolic transcriptomic changes at the same time points. Together, our data provide a unique resource for the community to help drive further hypothesis generation and testing in glaucoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- James R Tribble
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jeffrey M Harder
- The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, USA
| | - Pete A Williams
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Simon W M John
- The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, USA. .,Department of Ophthalmology and Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
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Tribble JR, Vasalauskaite A, Redmond T, Young RD, Hassan S, Fautsch MP, Sengpiel F, Williams PA, Morgan JE. Midget retinal ganglion cell dendritic and mitochondrial degeneration is an early feature of human glaucoma. Brain Commun 2019; 1:fcz035. [PMID: 31894207 PMCID: PMC6928391 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcz035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2019] [Revised: 10/29/2019] [Accepted: 11/01/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Glaucoma is characterized by the progressive dysfunction and loss of retinal ganglion cells. However, the earliest degenerative events that occur in human glaucoma are relatively unknown. Work in animal models has demonstrated that retinal ganglion cell dendrites remodel and atrophy prior to the loss of the cell soma. Whether this occurs in human glaucoma has yet to be elucidated. Serial block face scanning electron microscopy is well established as a method to determine neuronal connectivity at high resolution but so far has only been performed in normal retina from animal models. To assess the structure-function relationship of early human glaucomatous neurodegeneration, regions of inner retina assessed to have none-to-moderate loss of retinal ganglion cell number were processed using serial block face scanning electron microscopy (n = 4 normal retinas, n = 4 glaucoma retinas). This allowed detailed 3D reconstruction of retinal ganglion cells and their intracellular components at a nanometre scale. In our datasets, retinal ganglion cell dendrites degenerate early in human glaucoma, with remodelling and redistribution of the mitochondria. We assessed the relationship between visual sensitivity and retinal ganglion cell density and discovered that this only partially conformed to predicted models of structure-function relationships, which may be affected by these early neurodegenerative changes. In this study, human glaucomatous retinal ganglion cells demonstrate compartmentalized degenerative changes as observed in animal models. Importantly, in these models, many of these changes have been demonstrated to be reversible, increasing the likelihood of translation to viable therapies for human glaucoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- James R Tribble
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ Wales, UK
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, 112 82 Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Tony Redmond
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ Wales, UK
| | - Robert D Young
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ Wales, UK
| | - Shoaib Hassan
- School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Heath Park, Cardiff, CF14 4XW Wales, UK
| | | | - Frank Sengpiel
- School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF10 3AX Wales, UK
| | - Pete A Williams
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Eye and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, 112 82 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - James E Morgan
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ Wales, UK
- School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Heath Park, Cardiff, CF14 4XW Wales, UK
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35
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Williams PA, Braine CE, Kizhatil K, Foxworth NE, Tolman NG, Harder JM, Scott RA, Sousa GL, Panitch A, Howell GR, John SWM. Inhibition of monocyte-like cell extravasation protects from neurodegeneration in DBA/2J glaucoma. Mol Neurodegener 2019; 14:6. [PMID: 30670050 PMCID: PMC6341618 DOI: 10.1186/s13024-018-0303-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2018] [Accepted: 12/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Glaucoma is characterized by the progressive dysfunction and loss of retinal ganglion cells. Recent work in animal models suggests that a critical neuroinflammatory event damages retinal ganglion cell axons in the optic nerve head during ocular hypertensive injury. We previously demonstrated that monocyte-like cells enter the optic nerve head in an ocular hypertensive mouse model of glaucoma (DBA/2 J), but their roles, if any, in mediating axon damage remain unclear. METHODS To understand the function of these infiltrating monocyte-like cells, we used RNA-sequencing to profile their transcriptomes. Based on their pro-inflammatory molecular signatures, we hypothesized and confirmed that monocyte-platelet interactions occur in glaucomatous tissue. Furthermore, to test monocyte function we used two approaches to inhibit their entry into the optic nerve head: (1) treatment with DS-SILY, a peptidoglycan that acts as a barrier to platelet adhesion to the vessel wall and to monocytes, and (2) genetic targeting of Itgam (CD11b, an immune cell receptor that enables immune cell extravasation). RESULTS Monocyte specific RNA-sequencing identified novel neuroinflammatory pathways early in glaucoma pathogenesis. Targeting these processes pharmacologically (DS-SILY) or genetically (Itgam / CD11b knockout) reduced monocyte entry and provided neuroprotection in DBA/2 J eyes. CONCLUSIONS These data demonstrate a key role of monocyte-like cell extravasation in glaucoma and demonstrate that modulating neuroinflammatory processes can significantly lessen optic nerve injury.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pete A Williams
- The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, USA.,Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Section of Ophthalmology and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Rebecca A Scott
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
| | | | - Alyssa Panitch
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Gareth R Howell
- The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, USA. .,Graduate Program in Genetics, Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Simon W M John
- The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, USA. .,Department of Ophthalmology, Tufts University of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA. .,The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Bar Harbor, ME, USA.
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Tribble JR, Williams PA, Caterson B, Sengpiel F, Morgan JE. Digestion of the glycosaminoglycan extracellular matrix by chondroitinase ABC supports retinal ganglion cell dendritic preservation in a rodent model of experimental glaucoma. Mol Brain 2018; 11:69. [PMID: 30463575 PMCID: PMC6249825 DOI: 10.1186/s13041-018-0412-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2018] [Accepted: 11/07/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Retinal ganglion cell dendritic atrophy is an early feature of glaucoma, and the recovery of retinal ganglion cell dendrites is a viable option for vision improvement in glaucoma. Retinal ganglion cell neurites are surrounded by a specialised glycosaminoglycan extracellular matrix which inhibits dendritic plasticity. Since digestion of the extracellular matrix by chondroitinase ABC has been reported to have neuro-regenerative and neuro-plastic effects within the central nervous system, we explored its potential for dendritic recovery in a rat model of ocular hypertension. Chondroitinase ABC was administrated intravitreally 1 week after ocular hypertension (a time point where dendritic atrophy has already occurred). Retinal ganglion cell dendritic morphology was unaffected by chondroitinase ABC in normal retina. In ocular hypertensive eyes retinal ganglion cells showed significantly decreased dendritic length and area under the Sholl curve with atrophy confined to higher order dendrites. These changes were not observed in chondroitinase ABC injected eyes despite similar total retinal ganglion cell loss (i.e. dendritic protection of surviving retinal ganglion cells). These data suggest that glycosaminoglycan digestion could have a therapeutic role in mitigating the effects of elevated pressure on retinal ganglion cell dendritic structure in glaucoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- James R Tribble
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, CF24 4HQ, UK. .,Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Section of Ophthalmology and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Polhemsgatan 50, 112 82, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Pete A Williams
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Section of Ophthalmology and Vision, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Polhemsgatan 50, 112 82, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Bruce Caterson
- School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, CF10 3AX, UK
| | - Frank Sengpiel
- School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, CF10 3AX, UK
| | - James E Morgan
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, CF24 4HQ, UK.,School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, CF14 4XW, UK
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Burr SJ, Williams PA, Ratcliffe I. Synthesis of cationic alkylated chitosans and an investigation of their rheological properties and interaction with anionic surfactant. Carbohydr Polym 2018; 201:615-623. [PMID: 30241861 DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2018.08.105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2018] [Revised: 08/01/2018] [Accepted: 08/24/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Two methods were used to alkylate high MW chitosan with glycidyltrimethylammonium chloride (GTAC) in order to produce chitosan derivatives that are water-soluble throughout the pH range. In addition, a novel chitosan derivative was created by alkylating one of the products with the GTAC analogue Quab 342 containing C12 alkyl chains. The phase behaviour and rheological characteristics of the chitosan derivatives were studied in the presence of anionic surfactant. The derivatives were found to form soluble complexes at low and high SDS concentrations and that the Quab 342 derivative was able to form gels.
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Affiliation(s)
- S J Burr
- Centre for Water Soluble Polymers, Wrexham Glyndwr University, Wrexham LL11 2AW, Wales, UK.
| | - P A Williams
- Centre for Water Soluble Polymers, Wrexham Glyndwr University, Wrexham LL11 2AW, Wales, UK.
| | - I Ratcliffe
- Centre for Water Soluble Polymers, Wrexham Glyndwr University, Wrexham LL11 2AW, Wales, UK.
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Williams PA, Harder JM, Cardozo BH, Foxworth NE, John SWM. Nicotinamide treatment robustly protects from inherited mouse glaucoma. Commun Integr Biol 2018; 11:e1356956. [PMID: 29497468 PMCID: PMC5824969 DOI: 10.1080/19420889.2017.1356956] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2017] [Revised: 07/11/2017] [Accepted: 07/11/2017] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) is a key molecule in several cellular processes and is essential for healthy mitochondrial metabolism. We recently reported that mitochondrial dysfunction is among the very first changes to occur within retinal ganglion cells during initiation of glaucoma in DBA/2J mice. Furthermore, we demonstrated that an age-dependent decline of NAD contributes to mitochondrial dysfunction and vulnerability to glaucoma. The decrease in NAD renders retinal ganglion cells vulnerable to a metabolic crisis following periods of high intraocular pressure. Treating mice with the NAD precursor nicotinamide (the amide form of vitamin B3) inhibited many age- and high intraocular pressure- dependent changes with the highest tested dose decreasing the likelihood of developing glaucoma by ∼10-fold. In this communication, we present further evidence of the neuroprotective effects of nicotinamide against glaucoma in mice, including its prevention of optic nerve excavation and axon loss as assessed by histologic analysis and axon counting. We also show analyses of age- and intraocular pressure- dependent changes in transcripts of NAD producing enzymes within retinal ganglion cells and that nicotinamide treatment prevents these transcriptomic changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pete A Williams
- The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, USA
| | - Jeffrey M Harder
- The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, USA
| | - Brynn H Cardozo
- The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, USA
| | - Nicole E Foxworth
- The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, USA
| | - Simon W M John
- The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, USA.,Department of Ophthalmology, Tufts University of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
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Williams PA, Harder JM, Foxworth NE, Cochran KE, Philip VM, Porciatti V, Smithies O, John SWM. Vitamin B 3 modulates mitochondrial vulnerability and prevents glaucoma in aged mice. Science 2017; 355:756-760. [PMID: 28209901 DOI: 10.1126/science.aal0092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 362] [Impact Index Per Article: 51.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2016] [Accepted: 12/23/2016] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Glaucomas are neurodegenerative diseases that cause vision loss, especially in the elderly. The mechanisms initiating glaucoma and driving neuronal vulnerability during normal aging are unknown. Studying glaucoma-prone mice, we show that mitochondrial abnormalities are an early driver of neuronal dysfunction, occurring before detectable degeneration. Retinal levels of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+, a key molecule in energy and redox metabolism) decrease with age and render aging neurons vulnerable to disease-related insults. Oral administration of the NAD+ precursor nicotinamide (vitamin B3), and/or gene therapy (driving expression of Nmnat1, a key NAD+-producing enzyme), was protective both prophylactically and as an intervention. At the highest dose tested, 93% of eyes did not develop glaucoma. This supports therapeutic use of vitamin B3 in glaucoma and potentially other age-related neurodegenerations.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Vittorio Porciatti
- Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA
| | - Oliver Smithies
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Simon W M John
- The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME 04609, USA. .,Department of Ophthalmology, Tufts University of Medicine, Boston, MA 02111, USA.,The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Bar Harbor, ME 04609, USA
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Han L, Ratcliffe I, Williams PA. Synthesis, characterisation and physicochemical properties of hydrophobically modified inulin using long-chain fatty acyl chlorides. Carbohydr Polym 2017; 178:141-146. [PMID: 29050579 DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2017.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2017] [Revised: 08/31/2017] [Accepted: 09/05/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
A series of inulin derivatives were synthesized in aqueous solution using acyl chlorides with varying alkyl chain length (C10-C16). They were characterised using a number of techniques including MALDI TOF-MS, 1H NMR and FTIR and their degree of substitution determined. The solution properties of the hydrophobically modified inulins were investigated using dye solubilisation and surface tension and it was confirmed that the molecules aggregated in solution above a critical concentration (critical aggregation concentration, CAC). The value of the CAC was found to be reasonably consistent between the different techniques and was shown to decrease with increasing hydrophobe chain length. It was found that the C10, C12 and C14 derivatives formed stable oil-in-water emulsions and the emulsion droplet size decreased with increasing alkyl chain length. The C16 derivative was not able to produce stable oil-in-water emulsions; however, it was able to form stable water-in-oil emulsions. The fact that the derivatives are able to form micellar-like aggregates and stabilise emulsions makes them suitable candidates for the encapsulation and delivery of active compounds with potential application in food, cosmetic, personal care and pharmaceutical formulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lingyu Han
- Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, China; Centre for Water Soluble Polymers, Wrexham Glyndwr University, Plas Coch, Mold Road, Wrexham, LL11 2AW, United Kingdom
| | - I Ratcliffe
- Centre for Water Soluble Polymers, Wrexham Glyndwr University, Plas Coch, Mold Road, Wrexham, LL11 2AW, United Kingdom
| | - P A Williams
- Centre for Water Soluble Polymers, Wrexham Glyndwr University, Plas Coch, Mold Road, Wrexham, LL11 2AW, United Kingdom.
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Harder JM, Braine CE, Williams PA, Zhu X, MacNicoll KH, Sousa GL, Buchanan RA, Smith RS, Libby RT, Howell GR, John SWM. Early immune responses are independent of RGC dysfunction in glaucoma with complement component C3 being protective. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:E3839-E3848. [PMID: 28446616 PMCID: PMC5441748 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1608769114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Various immune response pathways are altered during early, predegenerative stages of glaucoma; however, whether the early immune responses occur secondarily to or independently of neuronal dysfunction is unclear. To investigate this relationship, we used the Wlds allele, which protects from axon dysfunction. We demonstrate that DBA/2J.Wlds mice develop high intraocular pressure (IOP) but are protected from retinal ganglion cell (RGC) dysfunction and neuroglial changes that otherwise occur early in DBA/2J glaucoma. Despite this, immune pathways are still altered in DBA/2J.Wlds mice. This suggests that immune changes are not secondary to RGC dysfunction or altered neuroglial interactions, but may be directly induced by the increased strain imposed by high IOP. One early immune response following IOP elevation is up-regulation of complement C3 in astrocytes of DBA/2J and DBA/2J.Wlds mice. Unexpectedly, because the disruption of other complement components, such as C1Q, is protective in glaucoma, C3 deficiency significantly increased the number of DBA/2J eyes with nerve damage and RGC loss at an early time point after IOP elevation. Transcriptional profiling of C3-deficient cultured astrocytes implicated EGFR signaling as a hub in C3-dependent responses. Treatment with AG1478, an EGFR inhibitor, also significantly increased the number of DBA/2J eyes with glaucoma at the same early time point. These findings suggest that C3 protects from early glaucomatous damage, a process that may involve EGFR signaling and other immune responses in the optic nerve head. Therefore, therapies that target specific components of the complement cascade, rather than global inhibition, may be more applicable for treating human glaucoma.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Xianjun Zhu
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME 04609
| | | | | | | | | | - Richard T Libby
- Flaum Eye Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY 14642
| | | | - Simon W M John
- The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME 04609
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME 04609
- Department of Ophthalmology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02111
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Williams PA, Braine CE, Foxworth NE, Cochran KE, John SWM. GlyCAM1 negatively regulates monocyte entry into the optic nerve head and contributes to radiation-based protection in glaucoma. J Neuroinflammation 2017; 14:93. [PMID: 28446179 PMCID: PMC5406973 DOI: 10.1186/s12974-017-0868-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2017] [Accepted: 04/18/2017] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND We previously reported a profound long-term neuroprotection subsequent to a single radiation-therapy in the DBA/2J mouse model of glaucoma. This neuroprotection prevents entry of monocyte-like immune cells into the optic nerve head during glaucoma. Gene expression studies in radiation-treated mice implicated Glycam1 in this protection. Glycam1 encodes a proteoglycan ligand for L-selectin and is an excellent candidate to modulate immune cell entry into the eye. Here, we experimentally test the hypothesis that radiation-induced over-expression of Glycam1 is a key component of the neuroprotection. METHODS We generated a null allele of Glycam1 on a DBA/2J background. Gene and protein expression of Glycam1, monocyte entry into the optic nerve head, retinal ganglion cell death, and axon loss in the optic nerve were assessed. RESULTS Radiation therapy potently inhibits monocyte entry into the optic nerve head and prevents retinal ganglion cell death and axon loss. DBA/2J mice carrying a null allele of Glycam1 show increased monocyte entry and increased retinal ganglion cell death and axon loss following radiation therapy, but the majority of optic nerves were still protected by radiation therapy. CONCLUSIONS Although GlyCAM1 is an L-selectin ligand, its roles in immunity are not yet fully defined. The current study demonstrates a partial role for GlyCAM1 in radiation-mediated protection. Furthermore, our results clearly show that GlyCAM1 levels modulate immune cell entry from the vasculature into neural tissues. As Glycam1 deficiency has a more profound effect on cell entry than on neurodegeneration, further experiments are needed to precisely define the role of monocyte entry in DBA/2J glaucoma. Nevertheless, GlyCAM1's function as a negative regulator of extravasation may lead to novel therapeutic strategies for an array of common conditions involving inflammation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Simon W. M. John
- The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME USA
- Department of Ophthalmology, Tufts University of Medicine, Boston, MA USA
- The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Bar Harbor, ME USA
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Williams PA, Harder JM, Foxworth NE, Cardozo BH, Cochran KE, John SWM. Nicotinamide and WLD S Act Together to Prevent Neurodegeneration in Glaucoma. Front Neurosci 2017; 11:232. [PMID: 28487632 PMCID: PMC5403885 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2017.00232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2017] [Accepted: 04/07/2017] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Glaucoma is a complex neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive visual dysfunction leading to vision loss. Retinal ganglion cells are the primary affected neuronal population, with a critical insult damaging their axons in the optic nerve head. This insult is typically secondary to harmfully high levels of intraocular pressure (IOP). We have previously determined that early mitochondrial abnormalities within retinal ganglion cells lead to neuronal dysfunction, with age-related declines in NAD (NAD+ and NADH) rendering retinal ganglion cell mitochondria vulnerable to IOP-dependent stresses. The Wallerian degeneration slow allele, WldS, decreases the vulnerability of retinal ganglion cells in eyes with elevated IOP, but the exact mechanism(s) of protection from glaucoma are not determined. Here, we demonstrate that WldS increases retinal NAD levels. Coupled with nicotinamide administration (an NAD precursor), it robustly protects from glaucomatous neurodegeneration in a mouse model of glaucoma (94% of eyes having no glaucoma, more than WldS or nicotinamide alone). Importantly, nicotinamide and WldS protect somal, synaptic, and axonal compartments, prevent loss of anterograde axoplasmic transport, and protect from visual dysfunction as assessed by pattern electroretinogram. Boosting NAD production generally benefits major compartments of retinal ganglion cells, and may be of value in other complex, age-related, axonopathies where multiple neuronal compartments are ultimately affected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pete A Williams
- The Jackson Laboratory, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteBar Harbor, ME, USA
| | - Jeffrey M Harder
- The Jackson Laboratory, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteBar Harbor, ME, USA
| | - Nicole E Foxworth
- The Jackson Laboratory, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteBar Harbor, ME, USA
| | - Brynn H Cardozo
- The Jackson Laboratory, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteBar Harbor, ME, USA
| | - Kelly E Cochran
- The Jackson Laboratory, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteBar Harbor, ME, USA
| | - Simon W M John
- The Jackson Laboratory, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteBar Harbor, ME, USA.,Department of Ophthalmology, Tufts University of MedicineBoston, MA, USA
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Abstract
Mounting evidence suggests neuroinflammation is a key process in glaucoma, yet the precise roles are not known. Understanding these complex processes, which may also be a key in other common neurodegenerations such as Alzheimer's disease, will lead to targeted therapeutics for a disease that affects as many as 80 million people worldwide. Here, we define neuroinflammation as any immune-relevant response by a variety of cell types including astrocytes, microglia, and peripherally derived cells occurring in the optic nerve head and/or retina. In this review article, we first discuss clinical evidence for neuroinflammation in glaucoma and define neuroinflammation in glaucoma. We then review the inflammatory pathways that have been associated with glaucoma. Finally, we set out key research directions that we believe will greatly advance our understanding of the role of neuroinflammation in glaucoma. This review arose from a discussion of neuroinflammation in glaucoma at the 2015 meeting of The Lasker/IRRF Initiative for Innovation in Vision Science. This manuscript sets out to summarize one of these sessions; "Inflammation and Glaucomatous Neurodegeneration", as well as to review the current state of the literature surrounding neuroinflammation in glaucoma.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nick Marsh-Armstrong
- The Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Hugo W. Moser Research Institute, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Gareth R Howell
- The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, USA; Graduate Program of Genetics, Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA.
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Williams PA, Tribble JR, Pepper KW, Cross SD, Morgan BP, Morgan JE, John SWM, Howell GR. Inhibition of the classical pathway of the complement cascade prevents early dendritic and synaptic degeneration in glaucoma. Mol Neurodegener 2016; 11:26. [PMID: 27048300 PMCID: PMC4822272 DOI: 10.1186/s13024-016-0091-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 112] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2016] [Accepted: 03/23/2016] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Glaucoma is a complex, multifactorial disease characterised by the loss of retinal ganglion cells and their axons leading to a decrease in visual function. The earliest events that damage retinal ganglion cells in glaucoma are currently unknown. Retinal ganglion cell death appears to be compartmentalised, with soma, dendrite and axon changes potentially occurring through different mechanisms. There is mounting evidence from other neurodegenerative diseases suggesting that neuronal dendrites undergo a prolonged period of atrophy, including the pruning of synapses, prior to cell loss. In addition, recent evidence has shown the role of the complement cascade in synaptic pruning in glaucoma and other diseases. Results Using a genetic (DBA/2J mouse) and an inducible (rat microbead) model of glaucoma we first demonstrate that there is loss of retinal ganglion cell synapses and dendrites at time points that precede axon or soma loss. We next determine the role of complement component 1 (C1) in early synaptic loss and dendritic atrophy during glaucoma. Using a genetic knockout of C1qa (D2.C1qa-/- mouse) or pharmacological inhibition of C1 (in the rat bead model) we show that inhibition of C1 is sufficient to preserve dendritic and synaptic architecture. Conclusions This study further supports assessing the potential for complement-modulating therapeutics for the prevention of retinal ganglion cell degeneration in glaucoma.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - James R Tribble
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK
| | | | - Stephen D Cross
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK
| | - B Paul Morgan
- Institute of Infection and Immunity, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF14 4XN, UK
| | - James E Morgan
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK
| | - Simon W M John
- The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, 04609, USA. .,Department of Ophthalmology, Tufts University of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02111, USA. .,The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Bar Harbor, ME, 04609, USA.
| | - Gareth R Howell
- The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, 04609, USA. .,Graduate Program in Genetics, Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University, 136 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA, USA.
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Williams PA, Parra-Herran CE, Ayroud Y, Islam S, Gravel DH, Robertson SJ, Pratt C. Abstract P1-01-11: Nuclear immunohistochemical IKK-ϵexpression in flat epithelial atypia (FEA) of the breast: A predictor of ipsilateral ADH, in-situ or invasive malignancy? Cancer Res 2016. [DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.sabcs15-p1-01-11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Background:Flat Epithelial Atypia of the breast (FEA) is associated with in situ and invasive low grade neoplasia. However, the role of excision after FEA on biopsy is controversial as rates of upgrading to atypical ductal hyperplasia (ADH), ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) or invasive carcinoma in subsequent excision are relatively low. Problems include difficulties in inter-observer reproducibility and lack of morphologic or immunohistochemistry (IHC) tools that better identify cases at risk for concurrent ADH/Carcinoma. Nuclear image analysis may be useful, but is not widely available. IKK-ϵ, part of the NF-kB activating pathway, is absent in normal breast epithelium and non atypical (usual) ductal hyperplasia, but is over-expressed in >30% of breast cancers. In addition, in our experience ADH/DCIS shows IKK-ϵ staining, mostly cytoplasmic. Of note, in prostate cancer, nuclear accumulation of IKK-ϵ has been described in hormone sensitive prostate disease while cytoplasmic accumulation is associated with metastatic progression. No previous studies of IKK-ϵ levels in FEA are reported. Here we report IKK-ϵ status in FEA and correlation with ipsilateral, synchronous ADH, DCIS or invasive carcinoma.
Method: Resection specimens from 61 patients with diagnosis of FEA were retrieved. Presence of ADH/carcinoma and laterality (ipsi or contralateral) was recorded. Synchronous neoplasia was defined as ADH, DCIS or invasive carcinoma diagnosed within 6 months of the diagnosis of FEA. Presence of FEA was confirmed by three observers using strict morphologic criteria. IHC for IKK-ϵ was performed using ABCAM, rabbit anti-IKK-ϵ (ab7891) and pH 6 citrate buffer heat-induced epitope retrieval for 20 minutes. IHC slides were scanned and FEA regions captured for blind scoring of nuclear and cytoplasmic staining. Cut off for positive nuclear staining was 10% and cytoplasmic staining was graded as negative, weak, moderate or strong positive.
Results:40 patients had ipsilateral synchronous ADH/carcinoma, and 21 did not. Within these groups, 6 patients had contralateral ADH/carcinoma (2 with and 4 without ipsilateral neoplasia). While cytoplasmic staining showed no difference between the groups, nuclear positivity was more frequent in cases with ipsilateral synchronous ADH/carcinoma, χ2(1, N = 61) = 5.1, p = .025 (Table 1). In contrast, there was no correlation between IKK-ϵ staining and ADH/carcinoma in the opposite breast (p=.25).
Table 1Nuclear IKK-eSynchronous Ipsilateral ADH/DCIS/Carcinoma Negative (%)Positive (%)TotalNegative10 (48)11 (52)21Positive10 (25)30 (75)40
Conclusion:Nuclear IKK-ϵ staining may prove useful in predicting synchronous ipsilateral ADH or malignancy in cases of FEA in biopsy material. Given its more frequent association with ipsilateral synchronous ADH/carcinoma, IKK-ϵ nuclear expression in FEA may represent a step in continuous local oncogenesis rather than a general marker of risk. Given the pleiotropic role of IKK-ϵ in growth and survival, the significance of the shift from nuclear staining in FEA to cytoplasmic staining in ADH/DCIS may reflect different signaling pathways and requires further investigation. Further validation of our findings in larger cohorts is necessary.
Citation Format: Williams PA, Parra-Herran CE, Ayroud Y, Islam S, Gravel DH, Robertson SJ, Pratt C. Nuclear immunohistochemical IKK-ϵexpression in flat epithelial atypia (FEA) of the breast: A predictor of ipsilateral ADH, in-situ or invasive malignancy?. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Eighth Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2015 Dec 8-12; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P1-01-11.
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Affiliation(s)
- PA Williams
- University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada; EORLA, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - CE Parra-Herran
- University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada; EORLA, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Y Ayroud
- University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada; EORLA, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - S Islam
- University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada; EORLA, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - DH Gravel
- University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada; EORLA, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - SJ Robertson
- University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada; EORLA, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - C Pratt
- University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada; EORLA, Ottawa, ON, Canada
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Adam CL, Williams PA, Milne JS, Aitken RP, Wallace JM. Orexigenic Gene Expression in Late Gestation Ovine Foetal Hypothalamus is Sensitive to Maternal Undernutrition and Realimentation. J Neuroendocrinol 2015. [PMID: 26212239 DOI: 10.1111/jne.12302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Adverse nutritional effects on developing foetal hypothalamic appetitive pathways may contribute to programmed hyperphagia and obesity in intra-uterine growth-restricted, low birth weight offspring. In the present study, for the first time, hypothalamic gene expression for primary orexigenic and anorexigenic genes was examined in late gestation ovine foetuses (130 days; term=145 days) whose mothers were undernourished (UN) or well-nourished (C) throughout pregnancy, or transferred from UN to C on day 90 (UN-C). Pregnancies resulted from singleton embryo transfer into adolescent growing ewes. Body weight, carcass fat content and perirenal adipose tissue (PAT) mass were all lower for UN (n=9) than C (n=7) and intermediate for UN-C foetuses (n=6), with no effect of sex. PAT leptin gene expression (by the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction) was lower in UN than C and UN-C groups, and lower in males than females. Gene expression (by in situ hybridisation with radiolabelled riboprobes) in the arcuate nucleus was greater in UN than C foetuses for neuropeptide Y (NPY), agouti-related peptide (AGRP) and leptin receptor (OBRb) but not different for pro-opiomelanocortin and cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript. Gene expression in UN-C foetuses was intermediate for NPY and AGRP and not different from C foetuses for OBRb. Gene expression for NPY, AGRP and OBRb correlated negatively with foetal carcass fat content and with PAT leptin gene expression across all groups. Males had greater mRNA expression for AGRP than females, with NPY and OBRb showing similar trends. Therefore, maternal undernutrition throughout pregnancy increased orexigenic gene expression in the late gestation foetal hypothalamus, and expression levels were largely normalised by improved maternal nutrition in the last third of pregnancy. These findings may have implications for avoiding or correcting prenatal programming of postnatal hyperphagia and obesity.
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Affiliation(s)
- C L Adam
- Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
| | - P A Williams
- Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
| | - J S Milne
- Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
| | - R P Aitken
- Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
| | - J M Wallace
- Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
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Lee ST, Williams PA, Braine CE, Lin DT, John SWM, Irazoqui PP. A Miniature, Fiber-Coupled, Wireless, Deep-Brain Optogenetic Stimulator. IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng 2015; 23:655-64. [DOI: 10.1109/tnsre.2015.2391282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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Williams PA, Howell GR, Barbay JM, Braine CE, Sousa GL, John SWM, Morgan JE. Retinal ganglion cell dendritic atrophy in DBA/2J glaucoma. PLoS One 2013; 8:e72282. [PMID: 23977271 PMCID: PMC3747092 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0072282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2012] [Accepted: 07/15/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Glaucoma is a complex disease affecting an estimated 70 million people worldwide, characterised by the progressive degeneration of retinal ganglion cells and accompanying visual field loss. The common site of damage to retinal ganglion cells is thought to be at the optic nerve head, however evidence from other optic neuropathies and neurodegenerative disorders suggests that dendritic structures undergo a prolonged period of atrophy that may accompany or even precede soma loss and neuronal cell death. Using the DBA/2J mouse model of glaucoma this investigation aims to elucidate the impact of increasing intraocular pressure on retinal ganglion cell dendrites using DBA/2J mice that express YFP throughout the retinal ganglion cells driven by Thy1 (DBA/2J.Thy1(YFP)) and DiOlistically labelled retinal ganglion cells in DBA/2J mice. Here we show retinal ganglion cell dendritic degeneration in DiOlistically labelled DBA/2J retinal ganglion cells but not in the DBA/2J.Thy1(YFP) retinal ganglion cells suggesting that a potential downregulation of Thy1 allows only ‘healthy’ retinal ganglion cells to express YFP. These data may highlight alternative pathways to retinal ganglion cell loss in DBA/2J glaucoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pete A. Williams
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
- The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine, United States of America
| | - Gareth R. Howell
- The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine, United States of America
| | | | | | - Gregory L. Sousa
- The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine, United States of America
| | - Simon W. M. John
- The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine, United States of America
- The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Bar Habor, Maine, United States of America
- Department of Ophthalmology, Tufts University of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - James E. Morgan
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
- Cardiff Eye Unit, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
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Williams PA, Piechota M, von Ruhland C, Taylor E, Morgan JE, Votruba M. Opa1 is essential for retinal ganglion cell synaptic architecture and connectivity. Brain 2012; 135:493-505. [DOI: 10.1093/brain/awr330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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