Name: methods for experimental manipulations after optic nerve transection in the mammalian cns
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<li>Experiments should be carried out using aseptic technique and following the animal use protocols of your specific institution. Instruments and materials (solutions, test substances, tracers, needles, etc.) coming into contact with living tissue must be sterile to prevent infection and adverse impacts on animal welfare and potential negative impacts on the study.</li>
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Optic nerve transection is a highly reproducible model of adult CNS neuron apoptosis. The experimental manipulations demonstrated in this manuscript permit the study of the mechanisms of RGC apoptosis after injury.
Intraocular injections are useful for global targeting of the retina. This procedure requires some practice, as it is critical not to injure the lens with the tip of the glass pipette. Lens damage has been shown to cause the release of growth factors, altering cell survival and rege...

A correction to the article Methods for Experimental Manipulations after Optic Nerve Transection in the Mammalian CNS was made.

Erratum: Methods for Experimental Manipulations after Optic Nerve Transection in the Mammalian CNS

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<td>Baxter Corp</td>
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<td>Mineral Oil Priming Kit: includes syringe, needles, rubber septa</td>
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methods for experimental manipulations after optic nerve transection in the mammalian cns

Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are CNS neurons that output visual information from the retina to the brain, via the optic nerve. The optic nerve can be accessed within the orbit of the eye and completely transected (axotomized), cutting the axons of the entire RGC population. Optic nerve transection is a reproducible model of apoptotic neuronal cell death in the adult CNS 1-4. This model is particularly attractive because the vitreous chamber of the eye acts as a capsule for drug delivery to the retina, permitting experimental manipulations via intraocular injections. The diffusion of chemicals through the vitreous fluid ensures that they act upon the entire RGC population. Viral vectors, plasmids or short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) can also be delivered to the vitreous chamber in order to infect or transfect retinal cells 5-12. The high tropism of Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV) vectors is beneficial to target RGCs, with an infection rate approaching 90% of cells near the injection site 6, 7, 13-15. Moreover, RGCs can be selectively transfected by applying siRNAs, plasmids, or viral vectors to the cut end of the optic nerve 16-19 or injecting vectors into their target the superior colliculus 10. This allows researchers to study apoptotic mechanisms in the injured neuronal population without confounding effects on other bystander neurons or surrounding glia. RGC apoptosis has a characteristic time-course whereby cell death is delayed 3-4 days postaxotomy, after which the cells rapidly degenerate. This provides a window for experimental manipulations directed against pathways involved in apoptosis. Manipulations that directly target RGCs from the transected optic nerve stump are performed at the time of axotomy, immediately after cutting the nerve. In contrast, when substances are delivered via an intraocular route, they can be injected prior to surgery or within the first 3 days after surgery, preceding the initiation of apoptosis in axotomized RGCs. In the present article, we demonstrate several methods for experimental manipulations after optic nerve transection.

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Methods for Experimental Manipulations after Optic Nerve Transection in the Mammalian CNS at JoVE.com

Methods for Experimental Manipulations after Optic Nerve Transection in the Mammalian CNS

Optic Nerve transection is a widely used model of adult CNS injury. This model is ideal for performing a number of experimental manipulations that target the retina globally or directly target the injured neuronal population of retinal ganglion cells.

Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are CNS neurons that output visual information from the retina to the brain, via the optic nerve. The optic nerve can be ...

Research

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Neuroscience

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Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are CNS neurons that output visual information from the retina to the brain, via the optic nerve. 
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In vivo Imaging of Optic Nerve Fiber Integrity by Contrast-Enhanced MRI in Mice

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The rat optic nerve is a useful model for stem cell regeneration research. Direct injection into the rat optic nerve allows delivery into the central ...

Visual Evoked Potential Recording in a Rat Model of Experimental Optic Nerve Demyelination

The visual evoked potential (VEP) recording is widely used in clinical practice to assess the severity of optic neuritis in its acute phase, and to ...