Project description:Objective: To determine the effects of age and topographic location on gene expression in human neural retina. Methods: Macular and peripheral neural retina RNA were isolated from human donor eyes for DNA microarray and quantitative RTPCR analyses. Results: Total RNA from human donor retina preserved integrity. Hierarchic clustering analysis demonstrates the gene expression profiles of young, old, macula and peripheral retina cluster into four distinct groups. Genes which are highly expressed in macular, peripheral, young or old retina are identified, including inhibitors of Wnt Signaling Pathway (DKK1, FZD10 and SFRP2) shown preferably expressed in the periphery. Conclusions: The transcriptome of the human retina is affected by age and topographic location. Wnt pathway inhibitors in the periphery may maintain peripheral retinal cells in an undifferentiated state. Understanding the effects of age and topographic location on gene expression may lead to the development of new therapeutic interventions for age-related eye diseases. Twleve youang and older retinal macular or prepheral RNA samples are used for DNA microarray study to compare the effects of aging and anatomic location on gene expression in human retina.
Project description:Objective: To determine the effects of age and topographic location on gene expression in human neural retina. Methods: Macular and peripheral neural retina RNA were isolated from human donor eyes for DNA microarray and quantitative RTPCR analyses. Results: Total RNA from human donor retina preserved integrity. Hierarchic clustering analysis demonstrates the gene expression profiles of young, old, macula and peripheral retina cluster into four distinct groups. Genes which are highly expressed in macular, peripheral, young or old retina are identified, including inhibitors of Wnt Signaling Pathway (DKK1, FZD10 and SFRP2) shown preferably expressed in the periphery. Conclusions: The transcriptome of the human retina is affected by age and topographic location. Wnt pathway inhibitors in the periphery may maintain peripheral retinal cells in an undifferentiated state. Understanding the effects of age and topographic location on gene expression may lead to the development of new therapeutic interventions for age-related eye diseases.
Project description:We examined the impact of 17β-estradiol (E2) eye drops on the modulation of the proteome pro-file in the male rat retina. With discovery-driven proteomics, we have identified proteins that were regulated by the treatment. These proteins were assembled to several bioinformatics-based networks implicating E2’s beneficial effects on the male rat retina in a broad context of ocular neuroprotection including the maintenance of retinal homeostasis, facilitation of efficient dis-posal of damaged proteins, and mitochondrial respiratory chain biogenesis. We have also shown for the first time that the hormone’s beneficial effects on the male retina can be con-strained to this target site by treatment with the bioprecursor prodrug DHED. A large concen-tration of E2 was produced after DHED eye drops not only in male rat retinae but also in those of rabbits. However, DHED treatment did not increase circulating E2 levels thereby ensuring therapeutic safety in males. Targeted proteomics focusing on selected biomarkers of E2’s target engagement further confirmed the prodrug’s metabolism to E2 in the male retina and indicated that the retinal impact of DHED treatment was identical to that of the direct E2 treatment. Alto-gether, our study shows the potential of topical DHED therapy for an efficacious and safe protec-tion of the male retina without unwanted hormonal side-effects associated with current estrogen therapies.
Project description:Recently we reported that the rat inner retina undergoes significant functional changes during maturation. Aiming to gain knowledge on additional aspects of retinal development and maturation, we used the microarray system to monitor gene expression patterns in the rat retina at ages 5, 11, and 20 weeks. The analysis revealed the expression of many well-documented retinal genes as well as a high number of nonâ??annotated genes. Quantitative realtime PCR analysis verified the microarray results in the majority of studied genes. A statistical analysis of the 4 microarray slides revealed 603 differentially expressed genes which were grouped into 6 expression clusters. A bioinformatic analysis of these clusters revealed sets of genes encoding proteins with functions that are likely to be relevant to inner retinal function (e.g. potassium, sodium, calcium, and chloride channels, synaptic vesicle transport, and axonogenesis). In addition, we performed a histological analysis of the maturing retina and studied different aspects of retinal structure. The analysis revealed a significant reduction of outer nuclear layer thickness between 11 and 19 weeks of age and a significant reduction of retinal ganglion cell number at 11 and 19 weeks comparing to 5 weeks. We identified in this study genes with differential expression pattern during retinal maturation. Some of the genes encode proteins that may be involved in the functional maturation of inner retinal cells. These data, taken together with our histological and electrophysiological data, contribute to our understanding of the developmental processes occurring in the retina of this widely-used animal model. Experiment Overall Design: Rat retinal samples at ages 5, 11, and 20 weeks were studied using 4 microarray slides in a dye-swap design: 5-11, 11-5, 5-20, and 20-5.
Project description:The retina constitutes a segment of the central nervous system (CNS). Both retinal and CNS neurons lack the inherent capacity to spontaneously regenerate axons following injury. Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) serve as the neurons connecting the eyes to the brain. Diseases such as glaucoma initiate damage to RGC axons at the optic nerve, ultimately leading to cell death and irreversible vision loss. While enhancing the survival of RGCs is a crucial initial step, especially for those with pre-existing axonal injuries in the optic nerve due to prolonged insults, effective therapies should also promote axon regeneration. Neuro-regeneration and reintegration into the brain remain to be enormous challenges in neurology and ophthalmology. Despite decades of effort and resources invested in the research of neuro-regeneration, scientists are still rather far from comprehensively identifying all intrinsic axonal growth regulators and their collaborative roles. Data-independent acquisition mass spectrometry (DIA-MS) is a next-generation proteomic methodology that generates permanent digital proteome maps offering highly reproducible retrospective analysis of cellular and tissue specimens. Compared to conventional mass-spectrometry, DIA-MS provides better reproducibility and sensitivity. In this study, we employed DIA-MS to conduct a comprehensive protein expression mapping in retinas from mouse models of degeneration and regeneration, and to gain insights into the complex molecular mechanisms associated with degeneration and regeneration processes in the retina.
Project description:Recently we reported that the rat inner retina undergoes significant functional changes during maturation. Aiming to gain knowledge on additional aspects of retinal development and maturation, we used the microarray system to monitor gene expression patterns in the rat retina at ages 5, 11, and 20 weeks. The analysis revealed the expression of many well-documented retinal genes as well as a high number of non–annotated genes. Quantitative realtime PCR analysis verified the microarray results in the majority of studied genes. A statistical analysis of the 4 microarray slides revealed 603 differentially expressed genes which were grouped into 6 expression clusters. A bioinformatic analysis of these clusters revealed sets of genes encoding proteins with functions that are likely to be relevant to inner retinal function (e.g. potassium, sodium, calcium, and chloride channels, synaptic vesicle transport, and axonogenesis). In addition, we performed a histological analysis of the maturing retina and studied different aspects of retinal structure. The analysis revealed a significant reduction of outer nuclear layer thickness between 11 and 19 weeks of age and a significant reduction of retinal ganglion cell number at 11 and 19 weeks comparing to 5 weeks. We identified in this study genes with differential expression pattern during retinal maturation. Some of the genes encode proteins that may be involved in the functional maturation of inner retinal cells. These data, taken together with our histological and electrophysiological data, contribute to our understanding of the developmental processes occurring in the retina of this widely-used animal model. Keywords: Dye-swap, Ganglion cells, Gene, Gene expression, Histology, Inner retina, Maturation, Microarray, Rat, Retina, Vision.
Project description:This is a part of the study that shows that a host gene,ONECUT2( OC2), promotes herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) genome accessibility. These ATAC analyses are for viral and host genome accessibility in Neuro-2a cells. Neuro-2a cells were transfected with pOC2△HOX2 and pcDNA plasmids for 42 hours then infected with herpes simple virus1 for 2 hours.
Project description:The mineralocorticoid receptor is expressed in the rat and human retina. We previously showed that intravitreal injection of aldosterone in rat eyes induced retinal œdème and choroidal vasodilation and permeability through regulation of ion/water channels (Zhao et al. Faseb J, 2009; Zhao et al. J Clin Invest 2012). Illicit activation of MR induces inflammation, oxidative stress and tissue remodeling in cardiovascular and renal diseases independent of hypertension. We performed a full transcriptomic study destinated to identify genes regulated by aldosterone in the whole retina of rat.