Transection of the optic nerve in rats: studying neuronal death and survival in vivo

Abstract

Transection of the optic nerve (ON) in the adult rat, as a model of fiber tract lesion in the adult mammalian CNS, results in delayed, mainly apoptotic death of 80-90% of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) within 14 days post-lesion. Because of good surgical accessibility of the retina and the optic nerve, the retino-tectal projection represents not only a convenient model to study the molecular mechanisms underlying neuronal death but also serves as a suitable system for investigating potential neuroprotective agents in vivo. In the present report, we provide a detailed protocol for this model including retrograde labeling of RGCs, ON lesion, assessment of the number of surviving neurons, and tissue preparation for several standard techniques like immunohistochemistry, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), enzyme assays and Immunoblot. (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Science BY.