Excitotoxic Cell Death in Cultured Retinal Neurons.

Yoon, Young Hee; Shim, Myoung Ja; Lee, Jaeheung

Original Article

Journal of the Korean Ophthalmological Society 1997;38(11):1987-1999.
Published online November 1, 1997.

Excitotoxic Cell Death in Cultured Retinal Neurons.

Young Hee Yoon, Myoung Ja Shim, Jaeheung Lee

¹Department of Ophthalmology, Ulsan University, College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
²Department of Ophthalmology, Seoul National University, College of Medicine.

배양 망막신경세포의 excitotoxic 세포사

윤영희(Young Hee Yoon),심명자(Myoung Ja Shim),이재흥(Jae Heung Lee)

Abstract

We examined excitotoxicity, putatively a major mechanism of ischemic neuronal death, in primary rat retinal cultures. Retinal cultures were prepared from newborn rats (day 1 or 2). Exposure of these cultures (DIV8-10)to NMDA or kainate induced neuronal death. Furthermore, MK-801 or CNQX each partially attenuated glutamateinduced neuronal death, suggesting that both NMDA and kainate receptors mediate it. Thy-1(+) retinal ganglion neurons, like neurons as a whole, were equally injured by NMDA and by kainate. However, GABA(+) or calbindin (+) neurons of the inner nuclear layer were resistant to NMDA, but highly vulnerable to kainate. These neurons may have AMPA/kainate receptors that are highly permeable to Ca2+, as they take up cobalt with kainate stimulation. These results suggest that the AMPA/kainate receptor, rater than the NMDA receptor, may mediate this pattern of selective neurnonal death.

Key Words: AMPA/kainate receptor;Cultured retinal neurnos;Excitotoxicity;GABAergic neuron;Glu R2 subunit