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Comment
. 2025 Apr 8;122(14):e2502602122.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.2502602122. Epub 2025 Mar 31.

Bilateral astrocyte reaction to unilateral insult in the optic projection to the brain

Joseph M Holden  1   2 , David J Calkins  1   2
Affiliations
Comment

Bilateral astrocyte reaction to unilateral insult in the optic projection to the brain

Joseph M Holden et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. .
No abstract available

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests statement:The authors declare no competing interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Schematic of visual projections. Main central targets for RGC axons in the rodent, with dominance of the contralateral projection indicated (thicker solid lines). The AOT (accessory optic tract) is also contralateral and includes the dorsal terminal nucleus (DTN), the lateral terminal nucleus (LTN), and medial terminal nucleus (MTN). There are nearly 50 central targets for RGC axons (8), including the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) and the LGN, which is the primary RGC target in primates and provides the direct retinal input to the primary visual cortex. The pretectum includes the olivary pretectal nucleus (OPN), nucleus of the optic tract (NOT), and posterior pretectal (PPT) nucleus. In rodents, all or nearly all RGCs project to the SC, while extending axon collaterals to other nuclei. Cooper et al. (4) show that unilateral IOP stress causes not only the expected contralateral pathophysiology that travels anterograde from the chiasm (thick red dashed line) but also an unexpected ipsilateral effect. Three possible mechanisms include (1) stress permeating anterograde through astrocyte-coupled networks that reflect cross-talk between the nerves, (2) feedback of stress signals from the visual cortex to the ipsilateral colliculus that travels retrograde to other structures, and (3) systemic circulation of inflammatory signals from LCN2+ astrocytes in the two colliculi.
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