Intermittent fasting reduces glaucomatous damage in an HSP27 autoimmune mouse model.

Background: Currently, the treatment of glaucoma is limited to reducing intraocular pressure since other involved pathomechanisms are not well understood yet. Evidence points to an immune-mediated component in disease development. For example, elevated antibody levels against heat shock protein 27 (HSP27) were detected in glaucoma patients. In mice, we previously noted glaucoma-like damage after an intravitreal HSP27 injection. Now, we aimed to investigate if intermittent fasting protects from this glaucomatous damage. Methods: CD1 mice were intravitreally injected with HSP27 into one eye. The contralateral eye served as a control. After injections, half of the animals received food ad libitum (no diet). The other half fasted, hence access to food was denied for 24 h at three days per week (diet). The animals were weighed weekly. Retinal thickness was analyzed via optical coherence tomography (OCT) after 4 weeks ( Results: The weight and OCT measurements revealed no differences between the groups. HSP27 retinas had significantly lower RGC numbers as well as decreased Conclusion: Intravitreal injection of HSP27 resulted in RGC loss and was associated with gliosis. In contrast, intermittent fasting conferred neuroprotective effects, likely by modulating neuroinflammatory pathways, and hence protected RGCs from damage. These findings highlight intermittent fasting as a potential adjunctive therapeutic strategy for glaucoma management.