ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Mol. Biosci.
Sec. Cellular Biochemistry
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2025.1636882
Astrocytes from lamina cribrosa are involved in the autoregulatory function of optic nerve head vessels in vitro Author names
Provisionally accepted
- Yanan University Affiliated Hospital, Yanan, China
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Purpose: To investigate the role of the lamina cribrosa (LC) astrocytes in the autoregulatory capacity of optic nerve head (ONH) vessels and to explore the underlying molecular mechanisms.The Oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion model (OGD/R) in vitro was constructed to examine the changes in cell morphology and protein expression in LC astrocytes. LC astrocytes were co-cultured with vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) to detect the role of LC astrocytes in the autoregulatory function of vessels.The partial pressure of oxygen (PO2) in the supernatant of LC astrocytes was significantly lower following OGD, and this reduction was more pronounced with longer OGD durations. OGD inhibited proliferation and promoted apoptosis in LC astrocytes, with longer OGD durations correlating with decreased proliferation and increased apoptosis. Reoxygenation following 1 hour of OGD led to upregulation of GFAP, mTOR, cPLA2 protein expression and supernatant PGE2 concentration in LC astrocytes, an effect that can be attenuated by the mTOR inhibitor. Co-culturing with LC astrocyte resulted in increased expression of MYPT1 protein in VSMCs, and the VSMCs exhibited a relaxed morphology.Under in vitro OGD/R conditions, LC astrocyte were activated through the mTOR pathway, leading to increased secretion of PGE2, which locally regulates the dilation of VSMCs.In conclusion, LC astrocytes may regulate local blood flow in the ONH.
Keywords: Not applicable Oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion, Lamina cribrosa astrocytes, vascular smooth muscle cells, mTOR pathway, Optic nerve head (ONH)
Received: 28 May 2025; Accepted: 26 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Xiao, Feng, Zhang, Wan, Jiao, Liwei and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Libo Xiao, Yanan University Affiliated Hospital, Yanan, China
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