Glutamate excitotoxicity and oxidative stress induced by experimental thrombosis of retinal vessels

Abstract

We studied the effect of thrombosis of retina vessels on the development of glutamate excitotoxicity in chinchilla rabbits. Thrombosis was induced by administration of Bengal rose dye at a dose of 40 mg/kg into the auricular vein of the animals followed by focal lighting with white light. Lighting was performed for 10 min on average at the temporal vascular arcade in the location of the angulation of vessels over the border of the disk of the optic nerve using a binocular ophtalmoscope and a condensing +14.0 D lens. We found that experimental thrombosis induced the accumulation of glutamate, aspartate, glycine, and GABA, as well as oxidative stress, which was associated with decreased activity of superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione-S-transferase.