Y-P30 confers neuroprotection after optic nerve crush in adult rats.

The survival-promoting peptide, Y-P30, has been shown to be neuroprotective and stimulates neurite outgrowth in vitro. In this study, we examined whether the peptide increases survival and induces axon outgrowth of retinal ganglion cells after an incomplete optic nerve crush. A single intraocular injection of the peptide directly after optic nerve crush increased the number of retinal ganglion cells that preserved an axonal connection with the superior colliculus in the adult rat by more than 50%. However, administration of Y-P30 into the vitreous or optic nerve had no effect on the number of axons growing into the crush site after optic nerve crush. These findings suggest that the peptide is a neuroprotective agent after optic nerve damage, but does not stimulate the axon outgrowth.