Examination of Anatomical Features of Retinal Ganglion Cells Under N-methyl-D-aspartic Acid (NMDA)-induced Excitotoxicity

Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are the output neurons of the retina, responsible for transmitting visual information to the brain. In the mature mouse retina, over 40 RGC types have been identified based on genomic, morphological, and functional characteristics. RGC degeneration is a hallmark of various debilitating retinal diseases, including glaucoma and traumatic optic neuropathy. Gaining deeper insight into the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying RGC degeneration, survival, and resilience across different disease conditions is crucial for developing effective therapeutic interventions. To investigate RGC degeneration, we adopted a simple yet powerful technique previously used extensively in retinal development studies for RGC morphologies and central projection. Here, we apply this method to assess the anatomical phenotypes of RGCs under NMDA-induced excitotoxicity. This approach enables the visualization of large numbers of degenerating RGCs over time, allowing us to map the sequence of degenerative events, identify hallmark phenotypes of dying RGCs, and distinguish RGCs that are resistant to NMDA-induced damage.