Intravitreal Trans-Resveratrol Ameliorates NMDA-Induced Optic Nerve and Retinal Injury

Abstract

Purpose

Retinal and optic nerve damage in glaucoma involves excitotoxicity via N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. Since, trans-resveratrol (TR) is known to provide neuroprotection, we investigated its protective effects against NMDA-induced retinal and optic nerve injury.

Methods

Sprague Dawley rats were divided into four groups which received vehicle (PBS), NMDA, and TR 0.4 or TR 4 nmol 24 h prior to NMDA, unilaterally and intravitreally. Seven days post-injection, rats were euthanized; eyeballs were enucleated and subjected to hematoxylin and eosin and terminal transferase dUTP nick end labeling staining while optic nerves were isolated for toluidine blue staining.

Results

Retinal morphometry showed that ganglion cell layer (GCL) layer thickness within inner retina (IR), retinal cell count (RCC) per 100-µm length of GCL, RCC per 100-µm² area of GCL, and RCC per 100 µm² of IR were significantly higher in both TR-treated groups compared to the NMDA group. No differences were observed between the two dose groups. Optic nerve morphology was in accordance with the retinal morphology whereby TR-treated groups showed significantly lesser degenerative changes compared to NMDA-treated group.

Conclusions

TR protects against NMDA-induced changes in retinal and optic nerve morphology by preventing retinal cell apoptosis.

Keywords:

• Trans-resveratrol
• N-methyl-D-aspartate
• excitotoxicity
• retinal and optic nerve damage
• neuroprotection

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the administrative and facility support by Research Management Institute, Institute of Medical Molecular Biotechnology (IMMB), Laboratory Animal Care Unit, Anatomy Department and Centre for Neuroscience Research, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that no competing interests exist. All authors have substantially contributed to conception, designing, drafting the article and in final approval of the manuscript version to be submitted. All authors have jointly decided to designate Prof Dr Igor Iezhitsa to be responsible for taking decision regarding the presence of authors and the order of their presence in the manuscript. Prof Dr Igor Iezhitsa has also been selected by all authors to be responsible for all future communication with the journal regarding this manuscript.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available at Universiti Teknologi MARA, Faculty of Medicine, Center for Neuroscience Research (NeuRon) upon reasonable request from Dr Nurul Alimah Abdul Nasir ([email protected]).

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE), Malaysia, under the grant numbers FRGS/1/2020/SKK0/IMU/01/1 and FRGS/1/2018/SKK08/UITM/02/7.