Glutamate receptor activation-mediated excitotoxicity has been hypothesized to cause cell death in both acute and chronic neurodegenerative diseases including glaucoma. Although the precise mechanisms of ischemia-induced neuronal death are unknown, glutamate excitotoxicity-induced apoptotic cell death is considered to be an important component of postischemic damage in the retina. The blockade of apoptotic cell death induced by glutamate receptor activation provides strong evidence that glutamate excitotoxicity-induced apoptotic cell death may be a central mechanism of cell death in ischemic rat retina. We have shown that there is TUNEL-positive apoptotic cell death in the outer nuclear layer, inner nuclear layer, and ganglion cell layer of the ischemic rat retina at 12 h.
