Title: Muller glia as endogenous neuroprotectors of the retina
Abstract: Abstract Endogenous cellular protective mechanisms may help in the development of therapies in order to achieve progress in the treatment of neuroprotection of the retinal cells. Exposure to high IOP induces changes in the endogenous neurotrophins from different retinal cells. In particular we found a transient increase of BDNF synthesis by RGCs after IOP increase that could be implicated in their neuroprotective transient responses endogenously or by acting through Müller glia. A possible proposed mechanism of action on Müller glia is through inhibiting the osmotic swelling and by up regulating the glutamate/aspartate transporter (GLAST) and Glutamine Synthetase (GS) expression in Müller glia. Moreover, we have demonstrated that Müller glia protects RGCs by several secreted factors as determined by proteomic analysis from their condition media. We will present the last studies showing how Müller glia protects RGCs.