ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate in vivo the protective effects of intraocular injection of ?-crystallin after optic nerve injury.Methods Sixteen rats were divided into normal control group,and 2-week,4-week,6-week groups after optic nerve lesion.?-crystallin and bovine serum albumin(BSA) was respectively injected into the right and left corpus vitreums after the optic nerve crush injury.CTB conjugates were injected into the vitreous of all the rats at 48 h before observing optic nerve with confocal microscope(488 nm).Results It could be seen the normal stripe of the nerve fiber in the injuried optic nerve stained with CTB conjugates and some dots and lumps of fluorescence could be seen in the optic nerve.The fluorescence intensity of the ?-crystallin group was notably higher than the BSA group.Conclusion CTB conjugates anterograde labeling is a reliable and convenient method to observe the optical nerve fiber after optic nerve lesion.?-crystallin administered intraocularly at the lesion time can protect the optic nerve fiber.