Gómez-Vicente, Violeta, Lax, Pedro, Fernández-Sánchez, Laura, Rondón, Netxibeth, Esquiva, Gema, Germain Martínez, Francisco, Villa Polo, Pedro de la, Cuenca, Nicolás Neuroprotective Effect of Tauroursodeoxycholic Acid on N-Methyl-D-Aspartate-Induced Retinal Ganglion Cell Degeneration Gómez-Vicente V, Lax P, Fernández-Sánchez L, Rondón N, Esquiva G, Germain F, et al. (2015) Neuroprotective Effect of Tauroursodeoxycholic Acid on N-Methyl-D-Aspartate-Induced Retinal Ganglion Cell Degeneration. PLoS ONE 10(9): e0137826. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0137826 URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10045/49588 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0137826 ISSN: 1932-6203 Abstract: Retinal ganglion cell degeneration underlies the pathophysiology of diseases affecting the retina and optic nerve. Several studies have previously evidenced the anti-apoptotic properties of the bile constituent, tauroursodeoxycholic acid, in diverse models of photoreceptor degeneration. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of systemic administration of tauroursodeoxycholic acid on N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-induced damage in the rat retina using a functional and morphological approach. Tauroursodeoxycholic acid was administered intraperitoneally before and after intravitreal injection of NMDA. Three days after insult, full-field electroretinograms showed reductions in the amplitudes of the positive and negative-scotopic threshold responses, scotopic a- and b-waves and oscillatory potentials. Quantitative morphological evaluation of whole-mount retinas demonstrated a reduction in the density of retinal ganglion cells. Systemic administration of tauroursodeoxycholic acid attenuated the functional impairment induced by NMDA, which correlated with a higher retinal ganglion cell density. Our findings sustain the efficacy of tauroursodeoxycholic acid administration in vivo, suggesting it would be a good candidate for the pharmacological treatment of degenerative diseases coursing with retinal ganglion cell loss. Keywords:Retinal ganglion cell degeneration, Tauroursodeoxycholic acid, N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-induced, Neuroprotective effect Public Library of Science (PLoS) info:eu-repo/semantics/article