Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 3, 2026

Optic Nerve Transection: A Model of Adult Neuron Apoptosis in the Central Nervous System
Published on: May 12, 2011
Glaucomatous retinal ganglion cells: death and protection
Na Cui1,2, Jun Jia1,2, Yuan He1,2
1Department of Ophthalmology, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Medical University, Xi'an 710038, Shaanxi Province, China.
Abstract:
Glaucoma is a group of diseases characterized by progressive optic nerve degeneration, with the characteristic pathological change being death of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), which ultimately causes visual field loss and irreversible blindness. Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) remains the most important risk factor for glaucoma, but the exact mechanism responsible for the death of RGCs is currently unknown. Neurotrophic factor deficiency, impaired mitochondrial structure and function, disrupted axonal transport, disturbed Ca2+ homeostasis, and activation of apoptotic and autophagic pathways play important roles in RGC death in glaucoma. This review was conducted using Web of Science, PubMed, Project, and other databases to summarize the relevant mechanisms of death of RGCs in glaucoma, in addition to outlining protective treatments to improve the degradation of RGCs.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Overview of Cell Death
Cell death was observed in the early 19th century, but there was no experimental evidence to prove it. In 1842, Carl Vogt first discovered cell death in a metamorphic toad; however, it was not termed ‘cell death.’ Scientists discovered different cell death pathways only in the...
Phagocytosis of Apoptotic Cells
Normal cells contain receptors that prevent them from being recognized...
Cells of the Epidermis
The cells in all these layers except the stratum basale are called keratinocytes, a type of cell that manufactures and stores the protein keratin. The keratinocytes in the stratum corneum are dead and regularly slough away, being replaced by cells from...
Cellular Injury IlI: Cellular Death
Cellular Injury V: Apoptosis and Autophagy

