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A research group led by Visiting Researcher Keiko Fujikawa and Professor Kaoru Inoue of the Faculty of Health Sciences has successfully developed a murine model of human glaucoma using mice deficient in Vav proteins. Since we obtain 80% of necessary information from our eyes, blindness has an enormous impact on not only individuals but also on society as a whole. Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness worldwide, and research on its pathogenesis and development of diagnostic techniques and treatment are highly sought after. However, glaucoma is a multifactorial disease and little of its mechanism has been elucidated, particularly at the molecular level due mainly to insufficient availability of effective murine models of spontaneous glaucoma, particularly those deficient in genes (i.e., knockout mice). In this study, the research group developed mice deficient in the Vav family of signaling molecules (Vav1, Vav2, Vav3), which play a critical role in human immune and nervous systems. They then examined whether Vav2/Vav3-deficient mice showed any pathogenesis. As a result, elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) occurred spontaneously in these genetically manipulated mice, showing characteristics of human glaucoma. There are more than 60 million glaucoma patients in the world, and this number increases every year. Considering the fact that IOP reduction is the only proven way to prevent progression to blindness, it is meaningful that this research group succeeded in developing a murine model with spontaneously elevated IOP for the first time in the world. This mouse model is highly expected to make significant contributions to early glaucoma detection and R&D on therapeutic drugs not only in Japan but also worldwide. Contact information:
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