Project details

Type of funding: Early Career Investigator Award
Grant holder: Lorber, Barbara (Dr)
Institute: University of Cambridge
Conditions: Glaucoma
Start date: Jan 2011
End date: Dec 2013
Title: Regenerating the optic nerve: how do glial cells modulate retinal ganglion cell axon growth and survival?
Description:

Glaucoma, the second leading cause of blindness, is characterised by progressive death of retinal nerve cells and loss of their processes in the optic nerve which connect the eye to the brain. Currently, there are no clinically proven therapies to treat glaucoma other than reducing eye pressure, which is not effective in all patients. Therefore, there is urgent need for the development of new treatment approaches.

Activated retinal support cells have recently been shown to aid retinal nerve cell survival and process regrowth in animal models of glaucoma and other optic nerve injuries. This is in contrast to activated support cells in the optic nerve which seem to inhibit regeneration. Recent studies have suggested that maximising activation of retinal support cells may be beneficial.

This project will investigate if transplanting these retinal support cells can enhance retinal nerve cell survival and induce regeneration. Cellular and molecular techniques will be used to investigate which growth factors are released by activated retinal support cells and, using genetic methods, whether stimulated release of these identified factors allows successful survival and process re-growth of retinal nerve cells in glaucoma and optic nerve injury models. Dr Lorber and colleagues believe that harnessing the positive potential of activated retinal support cells whilst reducing the inhibitory effects of activated support cells in the optic nerve will lead to the development of new clinical therapies for glaucoma and acute optic nerve injury.

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