CEREBRAL HYPOXIA ISCHEMIA INSULT ASPHYXIA INDUCES RETINAL DAMAGE

MARIANA HOLUBIEC A, JUAN IGNACIO ROMERO A, FRANCISCO CAPANI

Mar del Plata

Congreso; Congreso de la Sociedad Argentina de Neurociencias; 2015

Introduction A hypoxic event leads to an overall diminished cellular antioxidant capacity and causes several damages to cellular components (3). The retina is a tissue that undergoes high levels of stress due to its exposure to elevated oxygen levels and different light intensities (1), making it particularly susceptible to a hypoxic-ischemic insult. Our aim is to observe and establish the changes that this tissue undergoes after a hypoxic event related to pathologies such as retinopathy of the premature that usually follows perinatal asphyxia. Methods Histological techniques, Immunohistochemistry, Immunofluorescence, Electron microscopy, and Western blot were used to determine the outcome of hypoxia-ischemia in retinal tissues obtained from Sprague Dawley rats previously exposed to a global model of hypoxia-ischemia. Results Retinal tissues exposed to hypoxia-ischemia showed changes in layer width, nuclear membrane disorganization in ganglion cells, alterations in NeuN levels in different retinal layers, increased GFAP levels, and oxidative damage to DNA. Conclusions Hypoxia-ischemia affects retinal morphology, increases astrogliosis and induces cell damage. These findings are important to further establish the alteration that the retinal tissue undergoes after hypoxia as a basis for additional biochemical analysis. 1.Martin LJ, Brambrink A, Koehler RC, Traystman RJ. Primary sensory and forebrain motor systems in the newborn brain are preferentially damaged by hypoxia-ischemia. J Comp Neurol. 1997; 377:262-285.2.Garg TK, Chang JY.Oxidative stress causes ERK phosphorylation and cell death in cultured retinal pigment epithelium: prevention of cell death by AG126 and 15-deoxy-delta 12, 14-PGJ2. BMC Ophthalmology 2003, 3:5