Kurzfassung

Heat shock proteins play an important role in cell survival under normal and stress conditions. Elevated antibody levels against heat shock protein 27 (HSP27) have been identified in sera of glaucoma patients.
The aim of this study is to analyze if immunization with HSP27 can cause retinal ganglion cell loss in rats and to analyze changes in antibody profiles.
This study will be carried out in cooperation with the In Vivo Pharmacology Unit at Alcon Research (Fort Worth, TX).
Lewis rats will...Heat shock proteins play an important role in cell survival under normal and stress conditions. Elevated antibody levels against heat shock protein 27 (HSP27) have been identified in sera of glaucoma patients.
The aim of this study is to analyze if immunization with HSP27 can cause retinal ganglion cell loss in rats and to analyze changes in antibody profiles.
This study will be carried out in cooperation with the In Vivo Pharmacology Unit at Alcon Research (Fort Worth, TX).
Lewis rats will immunized with HSP27 (plus Freund’s adjuvant and pertussis toxin) and divided into three groups that will be euthanized at different timepoints. Eyes will be harvested at the end of the study and fixed. Flatmounts will be stained with Brn-3a to detect retinal ganglion cell nuclei. We use a computer assisted quantitation of the retinal ganglion cell (RGC) density.
Blood will be collected during the course of the study and sera will used to detect IgG antibody patterns via Western blotting. The antibody patterns will analyzed by multivariate statistical techniques.
Previous studies could demonstrate specific antibody profiles against retinal antigens in glaucoma patients. Thus, this animal model might be a beneficial approach to study the development and actions of anti-retinal antibodies and their possible involvement in glaucoma pathogenesis.

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