Continuous Hypoxia Reduces Retinal Ganglion Cell Degeneration in a Mouse Model of Mitochondrial Optic Neuropathy

PURPOSE: To test whether continuous hypoxia is neuroprotective to retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in a mouse model of mitochondrial optic neuropathy. METHODS: RGC degeneration was assessed in genetically modified mice in which the floxed gene for the complex I subunit NDUFS4 is deleted from RGCs using Vlgut2-driven Cre recombinase. Beginning at postnatal day 25 (P25), Vglut2-Cre;ndufs4(loxP/loxP) mice and control littermates were housed under hypoxia (11% oxygen) or kept under normoxia (21% oxygen). Survival of RGC somas and axons was assessed at P60 and P90 via histological analysis of retinal flatmounts and optic nerve cross-sections, respectively. Retinal tissue was also assessed for gliosis and neuroinflammation using western blot and immunofluorescence. RESULTS: Consistent with our previous characterization of this model, at least one-third of RGCs had degenerated by P60 in Vglut2-Cre;ndufs4(loxP/loxP) mice remaining under normoxia. However, continuous hypoxia resulted in complete rescue of RGC somas and axons at this time point, with normal axonal myelination observed on electron microscopy. Though only partial, hypoxia-mediated rescue of complex I–deficient RGC somas and axons remained significant at P90. Hypoxia prevented reactive gliosis at P60, but the retinal accumulation of Iba1(+) mononuclear phagocytic cells was not substantially reduced. CONCLUSIONS: Continuous hypoxia achieved dramatic rescue of early RGC degeneration in mice with severe mitochondrial dysfunction. Although complete rescue was not durable to P90, our observations suggest that investigating the mechanisms underlying hypoxia-mediated neuroprotection of RGCs may identify useful therapeutic strategies for optic neuropathies resulting from less profound mitochondrial impairment, such as Leber hereditary optic neuropathy.