Melanopsin-expressing Retinal Ganglion Cells in Control vs. Glaucomatous Retinas

Glaucoma is a common cause of vision loss worldwide and has a large scope of symptoms, ranging from pupillary reflex defects to sleep disorders. These issues can be explained partially by a recently found subtype of retinal ganglion cells that express melanopsin, denoted melanopsin-expressing retinal ganglion cells or mRGCs for short. These cells function primarily as photoreceptors in the non-image forming pathway, but can receive input from rods and cones. Since mRGCs play a role in the pupillary reflex and regulation of the sleep-wake cycle, I investigated if glaucoma leads to the degeneration of these cells in a mouse model at 4 months of age. This study focused on a specific type of mRGC, the M1 cell, due to this being the most abundant mRGC in the retina. I compared soma size, dendritic path length, and dendritic field size to a control and ran a statistical analysis. I found that glaucoma does not have an effect on M1 mRGCs at 4 months of age, and further research is needed to track the degeneration process