Single Cell Transcriptome Analysis of Regenerating RGCs Reveals Potent Glaucoma Neural Repair Genes [First_batch_reg_RGCs]

Axon regeneration holds great promise for neural repair of CNS axonopathies, including glaucoma. Pten deletion in retinal ganglion cell (RGC) promotes potent optic nerve regeneration, but only a small population of Pten-null RGCs are actually regenerating RGCs (regRGCs); most surviving RGCs (surRGCs) remain non-regenerative. Here we developed a strategy to specifically label and purify regRGCs and surRGCs respectively from the same Pten deletion mice after optic nerve crush, in which they differ only in their regeneration capability. Smart-Seq2 single cell transcriptome analysis revealed novel regeneration-associated genes that significantly promote axon regeneration. The most potent of these, Anxa2, acts synergistically with its ligand tPA in Pten deletion-induced axon regeneration. Anxa2, its downstream effector ILK, and Mpp1 dramatically protect RGC somata and axons and preserves visual function in a clinically relevant model of glaucoma, demonstrating the exciting potential of this innovative strategy to identify novel effective neural repair candidates. Overall design: RGCs mRNA profiles of Pten knock out mice