Research progress of interleukin-6 playing neuroprotective effects on retinal ganglion cells

Recently, the risk factors for glaucoma is not very clear, a variety of mechanisms, such as increased intraocular pressure, ischemia, deprivation of neurotrophic factors, glial cells activation, glutamate excitatory reactions can promote glaucomatous retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) apoptosis.Through the intervention of nerve cells apoptosis pathway to prevent RGCs damage has become the focus of treatment of glaucoma optic protection.In recent years, studies have shown that interleukin-6 (IL-6) secreted by astrocytes and microglia has the same effect with ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF), which can stimulate axon growth and improve the survival rate of RGCs after optic nerve injury and intraocular inflammation.Optic nerve injury and inflammation can induce the expression of IL-6 in retina.IL-6 binds to its receptor expressed in RGCs, activates the Janus kinase (JAK)/signal transducer and activator of transcription(STAT) pathway that up-regulates expression of heat shock proteins, reduces myelin disinhibition of axon regeneration in the optic nerve, resists apoptosis factors, such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and NO, induces regeneration-associated genes expression such as Sprr1a, Gap43, and promotes axon growth.This paper took the relevant researches of IL-6 playing neuroprotective effects on RGCs for a review.