ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the changes in the expression of JNK3 and APP protein in retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) after optic nerve injury and its effect on the survival of RGCs. Methods Optic nerve crush models were established using adult APP wild type mice. Immunohistochemistry and western blot for detecting the expression of JNK3 and APP protein in RGCs were used post-injury. The number of RGCs in APP KO mice group was counted to compare with APP WT mice group. Results After optic nerve injury, JNK3 expressed in cytoplasm of RGCs; p-JNK transformed from cytoplasm to nuclei of RGCs; APP expressed in cytomembrane; p-APP expressed in cytoplasm and axons of RGCs. Western blot results showed that the protein expressions of JNK3, p-JNK, APP and p-APP were increased in the injured group (P＜0.01) . The survival number of RGCs (147± 7.0) in APP KO mice group increased significantly than APP WT mice group (127.7 ±7.0) (P＜0.05) . Conclusion The upregulation of JNK3 and APP protein expression maybe play an important role in RGCs survival proceeds after optic nerve injury.