Real-Time Imaging of Retinal Ganglion Cell Apoptosis
1
The Western Eye Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (ICHNT), London NW1 5QH, UK
2
The Imperial College Ophthalmic Research Group (ICORG), Imperial College London, London NW1 5QH, UK
3
Glaucoma and Retinal Neurodegeneration Group, Department of Visual Neuroscience, UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, London EC1V 9EL, UK
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Cells 2018, 7(6), 60; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells7060060
Received: 9 May 2018 / Revised: 6 June 2018 / Accepted: 14 June 2018 / Published: 15 June 2018
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovative Methods to Monitor Single Live Cells)
Monitoring real-time apoptosis in-vivo is an unmet need of neurodegeneration science, both in clinical and research settings. For patients, earlier diagnosis before the onset of symptoms provides a window of time in which to instigate treatment. For researchers, being able to objectively monitor the rates of underlying degenerative processes at a cellular level provides a biomarker with which to test novel therapeutics. The DARC (Detection of Apoptosing Retinal Cells) project has developed a minimally invasive method using fluorescent annexin A5 to detect rates of apoptosis in retinal ganglion cells, the key pathological process in glaucoma. Numerous animal studies have used DARC to show efficacy of novel, pressure-independent treatment strategies in models of glaucoma and other conditions where retinal apoptosis is reported, including Alzheimer’s disease. This may forge exciting new links in the clinical science of treating both cognitive and visual decline. Human trials are now underway, successfully demonstrating the safety and efficacy of the technique to differentiate patients with progressive neurodegeneration from healthy individuals. We review the current perspectives on retinal ganglion cell apoptosis, the way in which this can be imaged, and the exciting advantages that these future methods hold in store.
Keywords:
retinal ganglion cell; apoptosis; neurodegeneration; glaucoma; annexin; imaging