This research proposal describes a mentored training program for the development of an academic career of a physician scientist. The goal of the proposal is to study glaucoma at the Casey Eye Institute at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). As the principal investigator and Assistant Professor at the Casey Eye Institute, Shandiz Tehrani, MD, PhD, will treat patients with glaucoma and also perform research to understand the cellular and molecular effects of how glaucoma results in optic nerve damage and blindness. OHSU provides an exceptional environment for him to further delineate the molecular mechanisms of glaucoma, with the goal of translating the results into novel therapeutics to treat and prevent glaucoma. John Morrison, MD and Elaine Johnson, ScD will serve as his mentors. Dr. Morrison is a Professor of Ophthalmology at OHSU, with clinical and research experience spanning the past 30 years. Dr. Johnson is an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at OHSU, who has spent over 20 years making significant contributions to the understanding of the molecular changes that occur in glaucomatous optic neuropathy. Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in the United States, resulting from damage to the axons of the optic nerve. While lowering intraocular pressure slows down the progression of glaucoma, it is not a cure. Development of alternative strategies to protect the optic nerve is currently hampered by our limited understanding of the molecular and cellular processes that lead to optic nerve and axon damage in glaucoma. Dr. Tehrani's research will improve this understanding by concentrating on the role that the actin cytoskeleton of the optic nerve head plays in the setting of glaucoma, and test whether this may become a new therapeutic target to prevent and/or control glaucomatous optic nerve damage. The specific hypothesis of this proposal is that the optic nerve actin cytoskeleton, located primarily within astrocyte processes, contributes to axonal support and is in turn important in the morphologic changes of the optic nerve in glaucomatous optic neuropathy. The first specific aim of this grant will elucidate the rol of the cytoskeleton in axonal support in a rat model of glaucoma. Using 2- and 3-dimensional immunofluorescence microscopy, the actin cytoskeleton of the rat optic nerve head will be imaged as a function of optic nerve injury. Dr. Ted Acott, Professor of Ophthalmology at OHSU, has many years' experience studying the cell cytoskeleton with confocal imaging. He will collaborate and help guide Dr. Tehrani's work on these experiments. The second specific aim will focus on characterizing the cytoskeleton of the human optic nerve in glaucoma, using donated tissue meant for research, which will also validate the relevance of the animal glaucoma model to the human disease. Dr. Markus Kuehn at the University of Iowa, who oversees a vast collection of donated human optic nerve tissue, will provide these.
The final aim of this grant will determine if pharmacologic modulation of the optic nerve head actin cytoskeleton alters the extent of optic nerve damage in Dr. Morrison's rat model of glaucoma.

Public Health Relevance

Glaucoma remains the second leading cause of blindness in the United States. Further understanding of the role of the optic nerve head actin cytoskeleton in glaucoma will provide a better understanding of how cells (astrocytes) that are responsible for protecting optic nerve fibers respond to elevated intraocular pressure. This will lead to new therapeutic targets for disease prevention and treatment.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Eye Institute (NEI)
Type
Clinical Investigator Award (CIA) (K08)
Project #
5K08EY024025-03
Application #
9121565
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZEY1-VSN (02))
Program Officer
Agarwal, Neeraj
Project Start
2014-09-30
Project End
2019-08-31
Budget Start
2016-09-01
Budget End
2017-08-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2016
Total Cost
$208,947
Indirect Cost
$15,478
Name
Oregon Health and Science University
Department
Ophthalmology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
096997515
City
Portland
State
OR
Country
United States
Zip Code
97239
Tehrani, Shandiz; Delf, R Katherine; Cepurna, William O et al. (2018) In Vivo Small Molecule Delivery to the Optic Nerve in a Rodent Model. Sci Rep 8:4453
Zivney, Mark; Lin, Phoebe; Edmunds, Beth et al. (2016) Combined Glaucoma Tube Shunt (Ahmed) and Fluocinolone Acetonide (Retisertâ„¢) Implantation Compared to Ahmed Alone in Uveitic Glaucoma. Ophthalmol Ther 5:223-233
Tehrani, Shandiz; Davis, Lauren; Cepurna, William O et al. (2016) Astrocyte Structural and Molecular Response to Elevated Intraocular Pressure Occurs Rapidly and Precedes Axonal Tubulin Rearrangement within the Optic Nerve Head in a Rat Model. PLoS One 11:e0167364
Morrison, John C; Cepurna, William O; Tehrani, Shandiz et al. (2016) A Period of Controlled Elevation of IOP (CEI) Produces the Specific Gene Expression Responses and Focal Injury Pattern of Experimental Rat Glaucoma. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 57:6700-6711
Tehrani, Shandiz; Johnson, Elaine C; Cepurna, William O et al. (2014) Astrocyte processes label for filamentous actin and reorient early within the optic nerve head in a rat glaucoma model. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 55:6945-52