• Haibo Tan, Yisheng Zhong, Xi Shen, Yu Cheng, Qin Jiao, and Lianfu Deng.
• Department of Ophthalmology, Ruijin Hospital Affiliated Medical School, Shanghai Jiaotong University, 197 Ruijin No. 2 Road, 200025 Shanghai, China.
• Neuropharmacology. 2012 Nov 1;63(6):1182-90.

AbstractWe investigated whether the RhoA/ROCK pathway was involved in the effect of erythropoietin (EPO) to promote retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) axonal regeneration in a rat optic nerve crush (ONC) model. We demonstrated that both EPO and ROCK inhibitor Y-27632 significantly enhanced RGCs survival and axon regeneration in vivo, and the effects of these agents were additive. Expression of active-RhoA was decreased after EPO or Y-27632 per pull down assay and affinity precipitation. Administration of EPO and Y-27632 cocktail resulted in even more RhoA inactivation, decreased expression of ROCK-1 and ROCK-2, and increased expression of growth associated protein-43 (GAP-43) protein per immunohistochemistry and western blot analysis. Down-regulation of active-RhoA, ROCK-1, and ROCK-2 expression by EPO coincided with the appearance of larger numbers of regenerating axons. In conclusion, the RhoA/ROCK signaling pathway was involved in the EPO effect to promote RGCs axon regeneration after ONC.Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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