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Gene therapy for retinal ganglion cell neuroprotection in glaucoma

Gene Therapy volume 19, pages 127–136 (2012)Cite this article

Abstract

Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. The primary cause of glaucoma is not known, but several risk factors have been identified, including elevated intraocular pressure and age. Loss of vision in glaucoma is caused by the death of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), the neurons that convey visual information from the retina to the brain. Therapeutic strategies aimed at delaying or halting RGC loss, known as neuroprotection, would be valuable to save vision in glaucoma. In this review, we discuss the significant progress that has been made in the use of gene therapy to understand mechanisms underlying RGC degeneration and to promote the survival of these neurons in experimental models of optic nerve injury.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr Timothy Kennedy (McGill University) for helpful comments on the manuscript, Dr Elena Feinstein (Quark Pharmaceuticals Inc., Ness Ziona, Israel) for providing the reporter siRNA and James Correia for assistance with the figures. This work was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. ADP is a Fonds de recherche en santé du Québec Chercheur Senior.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    A M Wilson & A Di Polo

  2. Groupe de Recherche sur le Système Nerveux Central, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    A M Wilson & A Di Polo

  3. Department of Ophthalmology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    A Di Polo

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  1. A M Wilson
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  2. A Di Polo
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Correspondence to A Di Polo.

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Wilson, A., Di Polo, A. Gene therapy for retinal ganglion cell neuroprotection in glaucoma. Gene Ther 19, 127–136 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/gt.2011.142

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