Fasudil protects retinal ganglion cells and promotes axonal regeneration

This study was aimed to investigate whether fasudil can protect retinal ganglion cells and promote axonal regeneration by inhibiting RhoA/Rock pathway. Long Evans rats were used to establish an optic nerve injury model. Apoptosis was detected by TUNEL, and surviving RGCs was detected by Fluoro-Gold retrograde label and hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining was used to evaluate pathological changes and western blot was used to measure the expression of protein. After 10 days of optic nerve injury rat model, increased cell apoptosis and decreased FG-positive RGCs in rat eye, but fasudil could reverse these changes. In vitro, fasudil could not only increase the number of RGCs with protuberances, but also increase the length of protuberances. Moreover, fasudil could not only reduce the expression of total-cohoin, Rock, total-cofilin and total-MLC protein induced by optic nerve injury, but also reduce the relative expression of GTP-RhoA, p-cofilin and p-MLC protein. Fasudil protects retinal ganglion cells and promotes axonal regeneration by inhibiting RhoA / Rock pathway.