Immunohistochemical Assessment of the Glial Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Activation in Glaucoma

Abstract

These findings provide evidence that retinal glial cells undergo activation in the glaucomatous human retina. A prominent and persistent activation of ERK in activated glial cells suggests that this signaling pathway is probably associated with the induction and/or maintenance of the activated glial phenotype in glaucoma. Because MAPKs are involved in determination of ultimate cell fate, their differential activity in neuronal and activated glial cells in the glaucomatous retina may be associated, in part, with the differential susceptibility of these cell types to glaucomatous injury.