Alterations in Tight- and Adherens-Junction Proteins Related to Glaucoma Mimicked in the Organotypically Cultivated Mouse Retina Under Elevated Pressure

PURPOSE: To scrutinize alterations in cellular interactions and cell signaling in the glaucomatous retina, mouse retinal explants were exposed to elevated pressure. METHODS: Retinal explants were prepared from C57bl6 mice and cultivated in a pressure chamber under normotensive (atmospheric pressure + 0 mm Hg), moderately elevated (30 mm Hg), and highly elevated (60 mm Hg) pressure conditions. The expression levels of proteins involved in the formation of tight junctions (zonula occludens 1 [ZO-1], occludin, and claudin-5) and adherens junctions (VE-cadherin and β-catenin) and in cell-signaling cascades (Cdc42 and activated Cdc42 kinase 1 [ACK1]), as well as the expression levels of the growth-factor receptors platelet-derived growth factor receptor beta and vascular endothelial growth factor receptors 1 and 2 (VEGFR-1, VEGFR-2) and of diverse intracellular proteins (β-III-tubulin, glial fibrillary acidic protein transcript variant 1, α-smooth muscle actin, vimentin, and von Willebrand factor VIII), were analyzed using immunohistochemistry, western blotting, and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reactions. RESULTS: The retinal explants were well preserved when cultured in the pressure chambers used in this study. The responses to pressure elevation varied among diverse retinal cells. Under elevated pressure, the expression of ZO-1 increased in the large vessels, neuronal cells began to express VEGFR-1, and the Cdc42 expression in the optic nerve head was downregulated. Overall we found significant transcriptional downregulation of VE-cadherin, β-catenin, VEGFR-1, VEGFR-2, vimentin, Cdc42, and ACK1. Western blotting and immunohistochemistry indicated a loss of VE-cadherin with pressure elevation, whereas the protein levels of ZO-1, occludin, VEGFR-1, and ACK1 increased. CONCLUSIONS: The pressure chamber used for cultivating mouse retinal explants can serve as an in vitro model system for investigating molecular alterations in glaucoma. In this system, responses of the entire retinal cells toward elevated pressure with conspicuous changes in the vasculature and the optic nerve head can be seen. In particular, our investigations indicate that changes in the blood–retina barrier and in cellular signaling are induced by pressure elevation.