Dysregulation of Neuroprotective Lipoxin Pathway in Astrocytes in Response to Cytokines and Ocular Hypertension

Glaucoma leads to vision loss due to retinal ganglion cell death. Astrocyte reactivity contributes to neurodegeneration. Our recent study found that lipoxin B(4) (LXB(4)), produced by retinal astrocytes, has direct neuroprotective actions on retinal ganglion cells. In this study, we aimed to investigate how the autacoid LXB(4) influences astrocyte activity in the retina under inflammatory cytokine-induced activation and during ocular hypertension. The protective activity of LXB(4) was investigated in vivo using the mouse silicone-oil model of chronic ocular hypertension (n=40). By employing a range of analytical techniques, including bulk RNA-seq, RNAscope in-situ hybridization, qPCR, and lipidomic analyses, we discovered the formation of lipoxins and expression of the lipoxin pathway in rodents (including the retina and optic nerve), primates (optic nerve), and human brain astrocytes, indicating the presence of this neuroprotective pathway across various species. Findings in the mouse retina identified significant dysregulation of the lipoxin pathway in response to chronic ocular hypertension, leading to an increase in 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) activity and a decrease in 15-LOX activity. This dysregulation was coincident with a marked upregulation of astrocyte reactivity. Reactive human brain astrocytes also showed a significant increase in 5-LOX. Treatment with LXB(4) amplified the lipoxin biosynthetic pathway by restoring and amplifying the generation of another member of the lipoxin family, LXA(4), and mitigated astrocyte reactivity in mouse retinas and human brain astrocytes. In conclusion, the lipoxin pathway is functionally expressed in rodents, primates, and human astrocytes, and is a resident neuroprotective pathway that is downregulated in reactive astrocytes. Novel cellular targets for LXB(4)’s neuroprotective action are inhibition of astrocyte reactivity and restoration of lipoxin generation. Amplifying the lipoxin pathway is a potential target to disrupt or prevent astrocyte reactivity in neurodegenerative diseases, including retinal ganglion cell death in glaucoma.