At the lab of Dr. Adriana Di Polo at University of Montreal, researchers are paving the way for the development of therapeutic approaches to protect pericytes and their nanotubes. The goal? Restoring vascular health and vision in glaucoma.
In living animals, as in humans, the retina uses the oxygen and nutrients contained in the blood to function properly. This vital exchange takes place through capillaries, the thinnest blood vessels in all organs of the body. Pericytes are small cells that wrap around capillaries. A pericyte can control the amount of blood passing through a single capillary simply by squeezing and releasing it.
In this webinar from April 4, Dr. Di Polo presented new findings from her laboratory demonstrating the critical role that pericytes play in vascular dysfunction in glaucoma. A key discovery is that inter-pericyte tunnelling nanotubes, thin nanotubes by which pericytes communicate with each other, are damaged in glaucomatous eyes contributing to the death of retinal neurons. Strategies that restore calcium equilibrium in pericytes are effective to rescue vascular function and promote neuroprotection. This work paves the way for the development of therapeutic approaches to protect pericytes and their nanotubes with the goal of restoring vascular health and vision in glaucoma.
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