GAMMA SYNUCLEIN AGGREGATES AND GLAUCOMA

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Glaucoma is a neurodegenerative disorder that kills retinal ganglion cells and is the second leading cause of blindness worldwide. Our recent data in multiple animal models of glaucoma suggest that this disease is characterized by pathological forms of gamma synuclein (Sncg) that resemble those seen for alpha synuclein in Parkinson's disease. In order to uncover the nature of these Sncg forms, we propose electron and immunoelectron microscopy analyses of the optic nerve head in a mouse model of glaucoma, the DBA/2J mouse, and of axons and terminals of transgenic frogs that overexpress tagged-Sncg in retinal ganglion cells. By demonstrating common cellular pathology in glaucoma and Parkinson's disease, the current studies stand to have a large impact on the current study and future treatment of these two equally common neurodegenerative disorders.