Retinal Ganglion Cell Death of Guinea Pig is Slower Than Rat as Optic Nerve Transection Animal Model

Tomohiko Sasase (Takatsuki Research Center, Central Pharmaceutical Research Institute, Japan Tobacco Inc)
Fatchiyah Fatchiyah (Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematic and Natural Sciences, Brawijaya University)
Takeshi Ohta (Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University)

JSMARTech : Journal of Smart Bioprospecting and Technology
Vol. 4 No. 1 (2023): JSMARTech Volume 4, No. 1, 2023

Glaucoma is a progressive optic neuropathy that leads to retinal ganglion cell (RGC) apoptosis and is a leading cause of acquired blindness. Recently, lack of clinical protective treatment for  optic nerve in glaucoma thus inhibitor drugs towards progression of RGC degeneration are urgently needed. In this study, we established a guinea pig optic nerve transection model and investigated the conditions under which RGC death is evaluated in the development of retinal neuroprotective drugs for the treatment of glaucoma. Guinea pig optic nerve axotomy induces RGC death similarly to other rodent models; however, the time to progress to significant RGC death is 21 days after transection and is longer than in the rat, 10 days after optic nerve axotomy. The results are useful for evaluating species-specific optic neuroprotective agents against rats and mice.