Systemic TRPV4 inhibition worsens retinal response to acute intraocular pressure elevation in older but not younger mice

Abstract

SIGNIFICANCE Previous evidence showed that transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 (TRPV4) inhibition was protective of retinal ganglion cell (RGC) loss after chronic intraocular pressure (IOP) elevation in young animals. However, the role of TRPV4 in mechanosensing IOP changes in the aging eye is not well understood. PURPOSE This study compared the recovery of retinal function and structure after acute IOP elevation in 3- and 12-month-old mouse eyes with and without TRPV4 inhibition. METHODS We examined retinal TRPV4 expression in 2-month-old rodent eyes using immunohistochemistry and transcript analysis of isolated macroglia and RGCs. To modulate TRPV4, mice were treated daily with either..