May 2008
Volume 49, Issue 13
Free
ARVO Annual Meeting Abstract  |   May 2008
Ciliary Muscle Secretion of Neurotrophic Factors After Plasmid Electrotransfer Delays Photoreceptor Loss in a Model of Retinitis Pigmentosa
E. Touchard; L. Kowalczuk; P. Bigey; C. Gandolphe; L. Jonet; J.-C. Jeanny; F. Behar-Cohen
Author Affiliations & Notes
  • E. Touchard
    INSERM UMRS 872, Physiopathology of ocular diseases : therapeutic innovations, Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers; Université Pierre et Marie Curie; Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France
  • L. Kowalczuk
    INSERM UMRS 872, Physiopathology of ocular diseases : therapeutic innovations, Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers; Université Pierre et Marie Curie; Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France
  • P. Bigey
    INSERM U640, Paris, France
  • C. Gandolphe
    INSERM U640, Paris, France
  • L. Jonet
    INSERM UMRS 872, Physiopathology of ocular diseases : therapeutic innovations, Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers; Université Pierre et Marie Curie; Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France
  • J.-C. Jeanny
    INSERM UMRS 872, Physiopathology of ocular diseases : therapeutic innovations, Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers; Université Pierre et Marie Curie; Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France
  • F. Behar-Cohen
    INSERM UMRS 872, Physiopathology of ocular diseases : therapeutic innovations, Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers; Université Pierre et Marie Curie; Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France
    Hotel-Dieu Hospital, Dpt of Ophthalmology; Rothschild Ophthalmologic Foundation, Paris, France
  • Footnotes
    Commercial Relationships  E. Touchard, None; L. Kowalczuk, None; P. Bigey, None; C. Gandolphe, None; L. Jonet, None; J. Jeanny, None; F. Behar-Cohen, None.
  • Footnotes
    Support  This work was supported by the European project EVI-GENORET (LSHG-CT-2005-512036) and the ANR EMERGENCE project (ANR05EMPB001-02).
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science May 2008, Vol.49, 2989. doi:
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      E. Touchard, L. Kowalczuk, P. Bigey, C. Gandolphe, L. Jonet, J.-C. Jeanny, F. Behar-Cohen; Ciliary Muscle Secretion of Neurotrophic Factors After Plasmid Electrotransfer Delays Photoreceptor Loss in a Model of Retinitis Pigmentosa. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2008;49(13):2989.

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Abstract

Purpose: : We have demonstrated that sustained secretion of proteins is achieved in intraocular media after ciliary muscle electrotransfer (CM-ET) of plasmids. Our aim was to determine whether ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) secreted after ET could prolong photoreceptor (PR) survival in RCS rats.

Methods: : Intraocular fluids levels of rGDNF and rCNTF were measured in dystrophic RCS rats and nondystrophic controls at 75 post-natal day (PN75) using ELISA. The cDNA of GDNF and CNTF, amplified from rat brain RNA, were subcloned in a pVAX2 backbone (CMV promoter) and secretion after CM-ET was evaluated in PN75 RCS rats for GDNF and in 20 weeks old albinos rabbits for CNTF. To evaluate the effect on PR rescue, ET of 30µg of each plasmid was performed in PN18 RCS rats (8 pulses, 200V/cm, 20ms, 5Hz) and ONL thickness was measured on PN75 eye sections. Untreated RCS rats and nondytrophic rats were used as controls.

Results: : At PN75, GDNF level was lower in intraocular media of dystrophic RCS rats compared to controls, whereas CNTF level was similar. CM-ET of pVAX2-rGDNF or pVAX2-rCNTF allowed for the secretion of the relative proteins in ocular media. As shown by ONL thickness measurements, a significant rescue of PR was demonstrated in the dystrophic RCS rats with a greater effect with rGDNF (9.7µm±0.1) compared to rCNTF (6.8±0.8) and controls (4.3±0.2).

Conclusions: : Ciliary muscle ET is a simple, safe and efficient method to deliver neurotrophic factors for the treatment of degenerative retinal disease. It allows a sustained secretion of GDNF in the vitreous resulting in significant rescue of photoreceptors.This work was supported by the European project EVI-GENORET (LSHG-CT-2005-512036) and the ANR EMERGENCE project (ANR05EMPB001-02).

Keywords: neuroprotection • degenerations/dystrophies • gene transfer/gene therapy 
© 2008, The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Inc., all rights reserved. Permission to republish any abstract or part of an abstract in any form must be obtained in writing from the ARVO Office prior to publication.
Copyright © 2025 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.
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