Title: Neuroprotection of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in experimental glaucoma with the novel gene therapy construct AAV2 hSYN1-TrkB-2A-mBDNF in adult and aged mice

Speaker: Alienor Jamet, PhD Student, Department of Medical Neuroscience, Dalhousie University

Date: Tuesday, April 15, 2025

Time: 11:30am - 12:30pm  

Location: Room 3H-1, Tupper Building

Description: The current available treatments for glaucoma, an age-related eye disease characterised by progressive retinal ganglion cell (RGC) degeneration, are only considering the main modifiable risk factor, intraocular pressure (IOP). There is a need for new therapies designed to target and protect RGCs, as an adjunct to lowering IOP. Recently, there has been a shift towards boosting RGC survival via gene therapy with recombinant adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors expressing brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), an agent essential for the survival of RGCs that is blocked during glaucoma. The results have shown limited benefit to RGCs as the efficiency of BDNF alone is time limited due to the downregulation of BDNF’s receptor, tropomyosin-related receptor kinase-B (TrkB). We propose a novel gene therapy expressing not only BDNF under its mature formulation (mBDNF), but also its receptor, TrkB, that will generate a sustained neuroprotective benefit for RGCs in experimental glaucoma (EG) in adult and aged mice.