JOURNAL/nrgr/04.03/01300535-202410000-00031/figure1/v/2026-05-04T143929Z/r/image-tiff Glutamate excitotoxicity has been shown to play an important role in glaucoma, and glutamate can induce ferroptosis. The p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway inhibitor SB202190 has a potential ability to suppress ferroptosis, and its downstream targets, such as p53, have been shown to be associated with ferroptosis. However, whether ferroptosis also occurs in retinal ganglion cells in response to glutamate excitotoxicity and whether inhibition of ferroptosis reduces the loss of retinal ganglion cells induced by glutamate excitotoxicity remain unclear. This study investigated ferroptosis in a glutamate-induced glaucoma rat model and explored the effects and molecular mechanisms of SB202190 on retinal ganglion cells. A glutamate-induced excitotoxicity model in R28 cells and an N-methyl-D-aspartate-induced glaucoma model in rats were used. In vitro experiments showed that glutamate induced the accumulation of iron and lipid peroxide and morphological changes of mitochondria in R28 cells, and SB202190 inhibited these changes. Glutamate induced the levels of p-p38 MAPK/p38 MAPK and SAT1 and decreased the expression levels of ferritin light chain, SLC7A11, and GPX4. SB202190 inhibited the expression of iron death-related proteins induced by glutamate. In vivo experiments showed that SB202190 attenuated N-methyl-D-aspartate-induced damage to rat retinal ganglion cells and improved visual function. These results suggest that SB202190 can inhibit ferroptosis and protect retinal ganglion cells by regulating ferritin light chain, SAT1, and SLC7A11/Gpx4 pathways and may represent a potential retina protectant.

Introduction: Retinal Müller cells exhibit the characteristics of retinal progenitor cells, and differentiate into ganglion cells under certain conditions. However, the number of ganglion cells differentiated from retinal Müller cells falls far short of therapeutic needs. This study aimed to develop a novel protocol to promote the differentiation of retinal Müller cells into ganglion cells and explore the underlying signaling mechanisms. Methods: Müller cells were isolated and purified from rat retina and induced to dedifferentiate into retinal stem cells. Next the stem cells were transfected with lentivirus PGC-FU-GFP or lentivirus PGC-FU-Atoh7-GFP. In addition, the stem cells were transfected with Brn-3b siRNA or Isl-1 siRNA or treated with Notch inhibitor gamma-secretase inhibitor (GSI). Results: The proportion of ganglion cells differentiated from Atoh7-tranfected stem cells was significantly higher than that of controls. Knockdown of Brn-3b or Isl-1 inhibited, while GSI promoted, the differentiation into retinal ganglion cells. Atoh7 promoted the expression of Brn-3b and Isl-1 but inhibited the expression of Notch1. Conclusions: Atoh7 promotes the differentiation of Müller cells-derived retinal stem cells into retinal ganglion cells by inhibiting Notch signaling, thus opening up a new avenue for gene therapy and optic nerve regeneration in glaucoma.

The aim of this study was to investigate the visual quality of the 2 kinds of intraocular lens: Visian implantable collamer lens (ICL) V4 and Visian ICL V4c implantations for high myopia. Twenty cases (20 eyes) with high myopia who received Visian ICL V4 implantation and 18 cases (18 eyes) with high myopia who received Visian ICL V4c implantation in our hospital from April 1, 2014 to November 31, 2016 were enrolled. In 1-month follow-up, near vision, best corrected distant visual acuity (BCVA), uncorrected distant visual acuity (UDVA), and wavefront aberrations were measured, and compensation factor was calculated. Near vision, UDVA, and BCVA showed no significant difference between ICL V4 implantation and ICL V4c implantation (P >.05). However, high-order aberrations and spherical aberrations were higher in ICL V4c implantation than in ICL V4 implantation (P <.05). Low-order aberrations (defocus and astigmatism), coma, and subjective visual quality had no significant difference between ICL V4 implantation and ICL V4c implantation (P >.05). The 2 kinds of ICL Visian ICL V4 and Visian ICL V4c had similar efficacy of visual quality for high myopia. The presence of the central hole of Visian ICL V4c has no significant effect on visual quality.

Glaucoma is the world's leading irreversible blinding eye disease. Lowering intraocular pressure is currently the only effective clinical treatment. However, there is a lack of long-acting IOP-lowering drugs, and some patients still experience retinal ganglion cell loss even with good intraocular pressure control. Currently, there is no effective method for neuroprotection and regeneration in clinical practice for glaucoma. In recent years, epigenetics has been widely researched and reported for its role in glaucoma's neuroprotection and regeneration. This article reviews the changes in histone modifications, DNA methylation, non-coding RNA, and m6A methylation in glaucoma, aiming to provide new perspectives for glaucoma management, protection of retinal ganglion cells, and axon regeneration by understanding epigenetic alterations.

Background: The limbus is located at a 2-mm-wide area between the bulbar conjunctiva and the cornea and has been suggested to be the niche of corneal epithelial stem cells and immune cells. Like the skin and intestines, the cornea is also an important mucosal surface, and immune cells on the cornea play critical roles in immune surveillance to ensure barrier surface homeostasis and protection from various environmental damage and infections. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) analysis of protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor type C positive (PTPRC⁺) hematopoietic cells from the corneal limbus could provide a single cell atlas of all the immune cell subsets.Methods: We performed single-cell RNA sequencing to generate transcriptomic profile for 804 sort-purified hematopoietic cells from the corneal limbus of three healthy donors.Results: Our analysis identified a primary transcriptomic pattern for multiple immune cell subtypes, including naive T cells, antiviral effector CD8⁺ T cells, and innate immune cells such as IDO1⁺ mature regulatory dendritic cells (mregDCs), macrophages, monocytes, and basophils in the human corneal limbus.Conclusion: Overall, single-cell transcriptomic analysis of limbal immune cells suggested the possible contribution of these cells on the adaptive and innate immune response of the human cornea.