Glaucoma is the main cause of non-curable blindness that affects 80 million people worldwide in 2020.
The most well-known features of glaucoma are reduced blood flow and impaired neurovascular coupling.
In a new study from University of Montreal, researchers reveal the mechanisms behind the above abnormalities caused by glaucoma. They found that nanotubes connecting pericytes are damaged in glaucoma and this leads to neurovascular deficits.
In the current study, the team used live imaging of the mouse retina and found significantly reduced capillary diameter and blood supply at pericyte locations in eyes with high intraocular pressure, the major risk factor to develop glaucoma.
The study shows that pericyte dysfunction impairs blood supply, causing the death of retinal ganglion cells, the neurons that connect the retina with the brain, ultimately leading to vision loss.
One key finding is that inter-pericyte tunneling nanotubes, thin nanotubes used by pericytes to communicate with each other, were also damaged in hypertensive eyes and contributed to neurovascular dysfunction in glaucoma.
What’s more, calcium is also a key player. Calcium entry into pericytes regulates their ability to constrict capillaries and control blood flow.
In glaucoma, pericyte calcium influx is excessive, causing decreased blood supply.
Once the calcium equilibrium is restored within pericytes, vascular and neuronal functions can be recovered in glaucoma.
The findings pave the way for the development of therapeutic approaches that selectively target pericytes and calcium equilibrium to restore neurovascular health in glaucoma.
It may also help restore other neurodegenerative disorders with vascular components such as Alzheimer’s disease.
If you care about eye health, please read studies about eye problem that may signal higher risk of dementia, and vitamin that may be a treatment for common blinding eye disease.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about drug that could help lower obesity, fatty liver, improve your heart health, and results showing this existing drug can prevent COVID death.
The study was conducted by Luis Alarcon-Martinez et al., and published in PNAS.
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