<b>Intraocular pressure</b>

Glaucoma is characterized by the progressive degeneration of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and damage to the optic nerve, with increased intraocular pressure (IOP) being one of the risk factors for the development of the disease. In addition to their role in visual processing, RGCs project to the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in the hypothalamus, which is responsible for generating and synchronizing biological rhythms with the light-dark (LD) cycle. These rhythms include body temperature, locomotor activity, feeding behavior, and hormonal secretion patterns. We have demonstrated that animals in advanced stages of glaucoma show alterations in the rhythm of spontaneous locomotor activity and core body temperature. Furthermore, humans with glaucoma exhibit sleep disturbances and disruptions in the circadian rhythm of body temperature and blood cortisol levels. Considering that glucocorticoid secretion has an endogenous circadian profile mediated by the SCN, this study aims to evaluate the impact of glaucoma-induced rhythmic alterations on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. For this purpose, we will use an animal model that spontaneously develops glaucoma, assessing the molecular components (gene and protein expression) of the HPA axis in glaucomatous (Dba/2j) and control (Dba/2j GPNMB+) animals.

青光眼以视网膜神经节细胞（retinal ganglion cells, RGCs）进行性变性及视神经损伤为主要特征，而眼内压（intraocular pressure, IOP）升高是该病发生的危险因素之一。除参与视觉加工外，RGCs还会投射至下丘脑的视交叉上核（suprachiasmatic nucleus, SCN），该核团负责生成生物节律并使其与光暗（light-dark, LD）周期同步。此类节律涵盖体温、运动活动、摄食行为及激素分泌模式等。本团队已证实，处于青光眼晚期的动物会出现自发运动活动节律与核心体温的异常改变。此外，青光眼患者可出现睡眠障碍，以及体温与血皮质醇水平的昼夜节律紊乱。鉴于糖皮质激素分泌存在由视交叉上核介导的内源性昼夜节律特征，本研究旨在评估青光眼诱发的节律改变对下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺（hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal, HPA）轴的影响。为此，我们将采用自发罹患青光眼的动物模型，对青光眼模型组（Dba/2j）与对照组（Dba/2j GPNMB+）动物的下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺轴分子组分（基因与蛋白表达水平）进行检测分析。