Scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have elucidated a genetic interaction that may prove key to the development and progression of glaucoma, a blinding neurodegenerative disease that affects tens of millions of people worldwide and is a leading cause of irreversible blindness.
The findings, published in the September 10 online issue of
Molecular Cell, suggest a new therapeutic target for treating the eye disease.
Optic nerve head of patient with glaucoma.
Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is the most common form of glaucoma, affecting more than 3 million Americans, primarily after the age of 50. Pressure inside the eye (known as intraocular pressure) and age are the leading risk factors for POAG, resulting in progressive degeneration of retinal ganglion cells, optic nerve damage and eventual vision loss.
Genetics also plays a role. Recent genome-wide association studies have identified two genes –
SIX1-SIX6 and
p16INK4a – as strongly associated with POAG.
SIX6 is required for proper eye development.
P16INK4a irreversibly arrests cell growth, a phenomenon called senescence.
In their new paper, principal investigator Kang Zhang, MD, PhD, professor of ophthalmology and chief of Ophthalmic Genetics at Shiley Eye Institute at UC San Diego Health, and colleagues report that some variants of
SIX6 boost expression of
p16INK4a, which in turn accelerates senescence and death of retinal ganglion cells.
“We also show that high intraocular pressure in glaucoma increases expression of
p16INK4a, making it a key integrator of inherent genetic and environmental risk factors that can result in glaucoma,” said Zhang.
The findings suggest that inhibiting
p16INK4a could offer a new therapeutic approach for glaucoma, which is currently treated by drugs that lower intraocular pressure. “Although lowering intraocular pressure can slow worsening of the disease, it does not stop it and prevent further cell death or possible blindness,” said co-author
Robert N. Weinreb, MD, Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology and director of the Shiley Eye Institute.
The authors note that earlier studies in mouse models have shown that selective elimination of
p16INK4a-positive senescent cells can prevent or delay age-related tissue deterioration.
According to the UC San Diego team, the next step is to conduct preclinical studies to assess the efficacy and safety of antisense oligonucleotides – strands of synthesized DNA or RNA that can prevent transfer of genetic information – which might inhibit
p16INK4a expression and prevent worsening of glaucoma. “If they are effective, we may contemplate a human clinical trial in the future,” Zhang said.
Co-authors include Dorota Skowronska-Krawczyk, Robert N. Weinreb, Jing Luo, Ken Flagg, Sherrina Patel, Cindy Wen, Martin Krupa, Hongrong Luo, Danni Lin, Wengqiu Wang, Christopher Chung, Emily Yeh, Maryam Jafari, Michael Ai, William Shi, Michael Krawczyk, Daniel Chen, Catherine Shi, Carolyn Zin, and Jin Zhu, Shiley Eye Institute and Institute of Engineering in Medicine, both at UC San Diego; Ling Zhao and Hong Quyang, UC San Diego and Sun Yat-sen University, China; Jie Zhu, UC San Diego and Fourth Military Medical University, China; Guiqun Cao, Gen Li, and Yanxin Xu, Sichuan University, China; Oulan Li, Sichuan University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China; Lianghong Zheng, Guangzhou KangRui Biological Pharmaceutical Technology Co., China; Pamela Mellon, Weiwei Gao, Liangfang Zhang, Sheng Zhong, UC San Diego; Zheng Zhong, Yehong Zhuo, and Yizhi Liu, Sun Yat-sen University, China; Xiaodong Sun, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China; and Michael G. Rosenfeld, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, UC San Diego.
Funding for this research came, in part, from the 973 Program, the State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, the National Institutes of Health and Research to Prevent Blindness.