Protection of the Retinal Ganglion Cells: Intravitreal Injection of Resveratrol in Mouse Model of Ocular Hypertension

PURPOSE. To investigate the efficacy of intravitreal administration of resveratrol (RSV) in a microbead-induced high intraocular pressure (IOP) murine model for glaucoma. METHODS. Experiments were performed using adult C57BL/6JJcl mice. Polystyrene microbeads were injected into the anterior chamber to induce IOP elevation. Retinal flat-mounts and sections were assessed by immunohistochemistry to detect the expression of reactive oxygen species and acetyl-p53 in retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in Muller glial cells (MGCs), and the receptor tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB) in RGCs. Light cycler real-time PCR was also used for confirming gene expression of BDNF in primary cultured MGCs exposed to RSV. RESULTS. Microbeads induced high IOP followed by RGC death and axon loss. Administration of RSV rescued RGCs via decreased reactive oxygen species generation and acetyl-p53 expression in RGCs and upregulated BDNF in MGCs and TrkB expression in RGCs, which exhibited a strong cytoprotective action against cell death through multiple pathways under high IOP. CONCLUSIONS. Our data suggest that administration of RSV may delay the progress of visual dysfunction during glaucoma and may therefore have therapeutic potential.