Retinal ganglion cell survival and axon regeneration after optic nerve injury in naked mole‐rats
Abstract
In the adult mammalian central nervous system (CNS), axonal damage often triggers neuronal cell death and glial activation, with very limited spontaneous axon regeneration. In this study, we performed optic nerve injury in adult naked mole‐rats, the longest living rodent, with a maximum life span exceeding 30 years, and found that injury responses in this species are quite distinct from those in other mammalian species. In contrast to what is seen in other mammals, the majority of injured retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) survive with relatively high spontaneous axon regeneration. Furthermore, injured RGCs display activated signal transducer and activator of transcription‐3 (STAT3), whereas astrocytes in the optic nerve robustly occupy and fill the lesion area days after injury. These neuron‐intrinsic and ‐extrinsic injury responses are reminiscent of those in “cold‐blooded” animals, such as fish and amphibians, suggesting that the naked mole‐rat is a powerful model for exploring the mechanisms of neuronal injury responses and axon regeneration in mammals. J. Comp. Neurol. 525:380–388, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jul 17, 2016
- Source ID
- 10.1002/cne.24070
Entities
People
- Benjamin J. Yungher
- Chen Wang
- Kevin K. Park
- Melissa M. Holmes
- Skyler J. Mooney
- Stephane Belin
- Xueting Luo
- Zhigang He
Organizations
- Adelson Foundation
- Buoniconti Fund
- Craig H Neilsen Foundation
- Harvard Medical School
- National Eye Institute
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
- United States Army
- University of Miami
- University of Toronto