Cataractogenic lens injury prevents traumatic ganglion cell death and promotes axonal regeneration both in vivo and in culture.

To examine and quantify neuroprotective and neurite-promoting activity on retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) after injury of the lens. In adult albino rats, penetrating lens injury was performed by intraocular injection. To test for injury-induced neuroprotective effects in vivo, fluorescence-prelabeled RGCs were axotomized by subsequent crush of the optic nerve (ON) with concomitant lens injury to cause cataract. The numbers of surviving RGCs were determined in retinal wholemounts and compared between the different experimental and control groups. To examine axonal regeneration in vivo, the ON was cut and replaced with an autologous piece of sciatic nerve (SN). Retinal ganglion cells with axons that had regenerated within the SN under lens injury or control conditions were retrogradely labeled with a fluorescent dye and counted on retinal wholemounts. Neurite regeneration was also studied in adult retinal explants obtained either after lens injury or without injury. The numbers of axons were determined after 1 and 2 days in culture. Putative neurotrophins (NTs) were studied within immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis. Cataractogenic lens injury performed at the same time as ON crush resulted in highly significant rescue of 746 +/- 126 RGCs/mm(2) (mean +/- SD; approximately 39% of total RGCs) 14 days after injury compared with controls without injury or with injection of buffer into the vitreous body (30 +/- 18 RGCs/mm(2)). When lens injury was performed with a delay of 3 days after ON crush, 49% of RGCs survived, whereas delay of 5 days still rescued 45% of all RGCs. In the grafting paradigm virtually all surviving RGCs after lens injury appeared to have regenerated an axon within the SN graft (763 +/- 114 RGCs/mm(2) versus 79 +/- 17 RGCs/mm(2) in controls). This rate of regeneration corresponds to approximately 40% of all RGCs. In the regeneration paradigm in vitro preceding lens injury and ON crush 5 days previous resulted in a maximum of regeneration of 273 +/- 39 fibers/explant after 1 day and 574 +/- 38 fibers/explant after 2 days in vitro. In comparison, in control retinal pieces without lens injury 28 +/- 13 fibers/explant grew out at 1 day, and 97 +/- 37 fibers/explant grew out at 2 days in culture. Immunohistochemical and Western blot analysis of potential NTs in the injured lens revealed no expression of ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), NT-4, nerve growth factor (NGF), and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). The findings indicate that the lens contains high neuroprotective and neuritogenic activity, which is not caused by NT. Compared with the data available in the literature, this neuroprotection is quantitatively among the highest ever reported within the adult rat visual system.