Haem oxygenase-1 gene transfer protects retinal ganglion cells from ischaemia/reperfusion injury

RGC (retinal ganglion cell) death following ischaemic insult is the major cause of a number of vision-threatening diseases, including glaucoma. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the role of HO-1 (haem oxygenase-1) in the retina against IR (ischaemia/reperfusion) injury. Adenovirus-mediated HO-1 gene transfer (Adv-HO-1) was carried out by injection into the vitreous body to induce HO-1 overexpression. At 3 weeks after transfection, levels of HO-1 expression, as measured by Western blot analysis, immunohistochemical staining and activity assay, were drastically up-regulated. Transient retinal ischaemia was induced by raising the intraocular pressure to 150 mmHg for 60 min. Untreated IR caused a significant decrease in RGC numbers at 3 and 7 days after reperfusion (76.1 and 67.2% of control eyes with sham IR respectively; P<0.001). Eyes pretreated with Adv-HO-1 had less RGC loss on day 3 and 7 following reperfusion compared with control eyes injected with Adv-GFP (adenovirus containing a gene for green fluorescent protein; 94.3 and 88.2% respectively; P=0.007 and 0.001). SnP (tin protoporphyrin), an HO-1 inhibitor, counteracted the effects of Adv-HO-1. In conclusion, these findings provide evidence that augmentation of HO-1 enzyme overexpression by intravitreal injection is able to protect RGCs against IR-induced damage.