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[Distribution of 70 kD stress protein in the optic nerve. A comparative study between the normal and retinal
K Yamaguchi1, K Yamaguchi, V P Gaur
1Department of Ophthalmology, Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.
Abstract:
The immunolocalization of the 70 kD stress protein (SP70) was investigated and compared in the optic nerve of normal Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats and that of the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) rat with inherited retinal dystrophy. At postnatal day 8, SP70 was present in the maturing glial cell bodies of both rat strains. At postnatal day 22, SP 70 was observed in the glial cell bodies and optic nerve fibers of both rat strains. At postnatal day 40 RCS rat, SP70 was diminished in the optic nerve fibers and glial cell bodies but was increased in the glial cell nuclei. This suggests that axonal transportation of SP70 from the retina may be reduced following retinal degeneration. In the SD optic nerve, the normal distribution of immunostaining for SP70 was preserved. Stress proteins are thought to play an important role in cellular development and survival mechanisms. It was suggested that optic nerve was damaged by the retinal degeneration in the RCS rat.