Nitric Oxide Mediates Excitotoxic and Anoxic Damage in Rat Retinal Ganglion Cells Cocultured With Astroglia

James Morgan
1999 Archives of Ophthalmology  
Nitric oxide has been implicated in the process of retinal ganglion cell death in glaucoma. Objective: To investigate the role of nitric oxide in mediating retinal ganglion cell death in a culture system that models glial-neuronal interactions at the level of the optic nerve head. Methods: Dissociated retinal ganglion cells from neonatal rats were plated on monolayers of astroglia and identified by retrograde labeling with the fluorescent marker
more » ... perchlorate. Two days after dissociation, cocultures of retinal ganglion cells and glia were treated with graded concentrations of the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor Nnitro-L-arginine (NNA), and exposed to either anoxia for 1 to 24 hours or excitatory amino acids for 6 hours. Surviving retinal ganglion cells were counted with fluorescence microscopy and expressed as a percentage of retinal ganglion cells surviving in control cultures.
doi:10.1001/archopht.117.11.1524 pmid:10565522 fatcat:zanpgd243rg3nhh723bjkgyvou