Brain cortex mitochondrial disfunction in an experimental glaucoma model

HVOZDA ARANA, AILEN G.; LASAGNI VITAR, ROMINA M.; CALABRO, VALERIA; MARCHINI, TIMOTEO; REIDES, CLAUDIA; LERNER, FABIAN; EVELSON, PABLO; FERREIRA, SANDRA

Maryland

Congreso; 2020 ARVO Meeting; 2020

ARVO

Purpose : Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness worldwide characterized by a specific pattern of optic nerve head damage, retinal ganglion cells death, and specific brain structure damage, including primary visual cortex. The aims were to evaluate the brain mitochondrial function and antioxidant defenses in an experimental glaucoma model.Methods : Three-month female Wistar rats were divided in two groups (n=8): glaucoma (GG) in which rats were operated under a microscope by cauterizing two of the episcleral veins and control (CG) which received a sham procedure. After 7 days, rats were euthanized, brains cortex were separated, and mitochondria were isolated. The following markers were evaluated: oxygen consumption (OC), ATP production, hydrogen peroxide (H O ) and superoxide anion (O ) production, complex I-III, II-III, and IV activities, cardiolipin content, mitochondrial membrane potential, NADPH oxidase-4 (NOX4) expression, protein carbonylation (PC), and antioxidant enzyme activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione Stransferase (GST), glutathione reductase (GR), and thioredoxin reductase (TrxR).Results : Compared to CG, GG showed a decrease in ATP production (23%, p