Characterization of a monkey model with experimental retinal damage induced by N-methyl-D-aspartate

N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-induced retinal damage has been well studied in rodents, but the detailed mechanisms have not yet been characterized in nonhuman primates. Here, we characterized the retinal degenerative effects of NMDA on rhesus monkeys in vivo. NMDA saline or saline-only control was injected intravitreally to the randomly assigned eyes and contralateral eyes of four rhesus monkeys, respectively. The structural and functional changes of retina were characterized by optical coherence tomography and electroretinography on days 0, 4, 30 and 60 post injection. Both optic discs and macular areas of the NMDA-injected eyes initially presented with a transient retinal thickening, followed by continued retinal thinning. The initial, transient retinal thickening has also been observed in glaucoma patients, but this has not been reported in rodent NMDA models. This initial response was followed by loss of retina ganglion cells (RGCs), which is similar to glaucomatous optic neuropathy and other RGC-related retinal degenerations. The amplitudes of both the photopic negative response and pattern electroretinogram decreased significantly and remained low until the end of the study. Thus, the NMDA monkey model may serve as a more clinically relevant animal model of retinal damage.