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CFC Research Featured in Major Vision Publication
The article featured on the cover of the September, 2006 edition of vision research magazine IOVS (Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science) is authored by Rebecca M. Sappington, PhD, and David J. Calkins, PhD, of the GRF-funded Catalyst For a Cure (CFC) research consortium.
Drs. Calkins and Sappington provided the following summary of their published findings for Glaucoma Research Foundation’s website visitors:
Summary of Findings Published in IOVS
In glaucoma, the response of astrocytes and microglia is generally associated with negative effects on retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). Recent work by the Catalyst For a Cure (CFC) research consortium demonstrates that microglia may actually protect RGCs from death.
In a recently published paper, the CFC researchers identified interleukin-6 (IL-6) as an important factor released by microglia that can significantly reduce RGC death caused by elevated pressure. In a second newly published paper, the CFC researchers demonstrate that pressure-induced production and release of IL-6 by microglia occurs via cellular mechanisms that also underlie IL-6 production in other neurological insults and diseases.
CFC studies support the notion that as a neurodegenerative disease, glaucoma shares common disease mechanisms and characteristics with other neurological injuries and disorders. In particular, the CFC has identified both IL-6 and microglia as potential targets for therapeutics aimed at promoting health and survival in glaucoma.
Photo on cover of IOVS, September 2006: Fluorescent micrograph from CFC lab at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.