Journal article
Exercise reverses age-related vulnerability of the retina to injury by preventing complement-mediated synapse elimination via a BDNF-dependent pathway
V Chrysostomou, S Galic, P van Wijngaarden, IA Trounce, GR Steinberg, JG Crowston
Aging Cell | WILEY | Published : 2016
DOI: 10.1111/acel.12512
Open access
Abstract
Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) become increasingly vulnerable to injury with advancing age. We recently showed that this vulnerability can be strongly modified in mice by exercise. However, the characteristics and underlying mechanisms of retinal protection with exercise remain unknown. Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate cellular changes associated with exercise-induced protection of aging retinal cells and the role of local and peripheral trophic signalling in mediating these effects. We focussed on two molecules that are thought to play key roles in mediating beneficial effects of exercise: brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). In mid..
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Awarded by National Science Foundation
Funding Acknowledgements
The Ophthalmic Research Institute of Australia, (Grant/Award Number: 'RANZCO Eye Foundation Grant', 'WA Quinlivan/Glaucoma Australia Grant') National Health and Medical Research Council, (Grant/Award Number: 'Project Grant APP1068813'). GRS is supported by a Canada Research Chair in Metabolism and Obesity and the J Bruce Duncan Chair in Metabolic Diseases.