Retinal Macroglial Responses in Health and Disease

Received 27 January 2016; Accepted 14 April 2016 Copyright © 2016 Rosa de Hoz et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
Due to their permanent and close proximity to neurons, glial cells perform essential tasks for the normal physiology of the retina. Astrocytes andM¨uller cells (retinal macroglia) provide physical support to neurons and supplement them with several metabolites and growth factors.Macroglia are involved in maintaining the homeostasis of extracellular ions and neurotransmitters, are essential for information processing in neural circuits, participate in retinal glucose metabolism and in removing metabolic waste products, regulate local blood flow, induce the blood-retinal barrier (BRB), play fundamental roles in local immune response, and protect neurons from oxidative damage. In response to polyetiological insults, glia cells react with a process called reactive gliosis, seeking to maintain retinal homeostasis. When malfunctioning, macroglial cells can become primary pathogenic elements. A reactive gliosis has been described in different retinal pathologies, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetes, glaucoma, retinal detachment, or retinitis pigmentosa. A better understanding of the dual, neuroprotective, or cytotoxic effect of macroglial involvement in retinal pathologies would help in treating the physiopathology of these diseases.The extensive participation of the macroglia in retinal diseases points to these cells as innovative targets for new drug therapies.
Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MINECO)
Instituto de Salud Carlos III (España)
OFTARED
European Programme FEDER
Unidad Docente de Inmunología, Oftalmología y ORL
Fac. de Óptica y Optometría
TRUE
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