Primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) is a leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. Previous MRI studies have revealed that POAG can be associated with alterations in hippocampal function. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate a relationship between chronic high intraocular pressure (IOP) and hippocampal changes in a rat model. We used behavioural tests to assess learning and memory ability, and additionally investigated the hippocampal expression of pathological amyloid beta (A beta), phospho-tau, and related pathway proteins. Chronic high IOP impaired learning and memory in rats and concurrently increased A beta and phospho-tau expression in the hippocampus by altering the activation of different kinase (GSK-3 beta, BACE1) and phosphatase (PP2A) proteins in the hippocampus. This study provides novel evidence for the relationship between high IOP and hippocampal alterations, especially in the context of learning and memory. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
基金:
National Natural Science Foundation of ChinaNational Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) [81471744, 81300760]; Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) [2015TS142]