Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10316/108906
Title: Caffeine administration prevents retinal neuroinflammation and loss of retinal ganglion cells in an animal model of glaucoma
Authors: Madeira, Maria H. 
Ortin-Martinez, Arturo
Nadal-Nícolas, Francisco
Ambrósio, António F. 
Vidal-Sanz, Manuel
Agudo-Barriuso, Marta
Santiago, Ana Raquel 
Issue Date: 8-Jun-2016
Publisher: Springer Nature
Project: SFRH/BD/75839/2011 
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/UID/NEU/04539/2013/PT 
FCOMP-01-0124- FEDER-028417 
PTDC/BIM-MEC/0913/2012 
PEst-C/SAU/UI3282/2011 
Serial title, monograph or event: Scientific Reports
Volume: 6
Issue: 1
Abstract: Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness worldwide, being characterized by progressive optic nerve damage and loss of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), accompanied by increased inflammatory response involving retinal microglial cells. The etiology of glaucoma is still unknown, and despite elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) being a major risk factor, the exact mechanisms responsible for RGC degeneration remain unknown. Caffeine, which is an antagonist of adenosine receptors, is the most widely consumed psychoactive drug in the world. Several evidences suggest that caffeine can attenuate the neuroinflammatory responses and afford protection upon central nervous system (CNS) injury. We took advantage of a well characterized animal model of glaucoma to investigate whether caffeine administration controls neuroinflammation and elicits neuroprotection. Caffeine or water were administered ad libitum and ocular hypertension (OHT) was induced by laser photocoagulation of the limbal veins in Sprague Dawley rats. Herein, we show that caffeine is able to partially decrease the IOP in ocular hypertensive animals. More importantly, we found that drinking caffeine prevented retinal microglia-mediated neuroinflammatory response and attenuated the loss of RGCs in animals with ocular hypertension (OHT). This study opens the possibility that caffeine or adenosine receptor antagonists might be a therapeutic option to manage RGC loss in glaucoma.
URI: https://hdl.handle.net/10316/108906
ISSN: 2045-2322
DOI: 10.1038/srep27532
Rights: openAccess
Appears in Collections:I&D CNC - Artigos em Revistas Internacionais
FMUC Medicina - Artigos em Revistas Internacionais
I&D IBILI - Artigos em Revistas Internacionais

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