Axonopathy is a hallmark of many neurodegenerative diseases including glaucoma, where elevated intraocular pressure (ocular hypertension, OHT) stresses retinal ganglion cell (RGC) axons as they exit the eye and form the optic nerve. OHT causes early changes in the optic nerve such as axon atrophy, transport inhibition, and gliosis. Importantly, many of these changes appear to occur prior to irreversible neuronal loss, making them promising points for early diagnosis of glaucoma. It is unknown whether OHT has similarly early effects on the function of RGC output to the brain. To test this possibility, we elevated eye pressure in mice by anterior chamber injection of polystyrene microbeads. Five weeks post-injection, bead-injected eyes showed a modest RGC loss in the peripheral retina, as evidenced by RBPMS antibody staining. Additionally, we observed reduced dendritic complexity and lower spontaneous spike rate of On-αRGCs, targeted for patch clamp recording and dye filling using a Opn4-Cre reporter mouse line. To determine the influence of OHT on retinal projections to the brain, we expressed Channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) in melanopsin-expressing RGCs by crossing the Opn4-Cre mouse line with a ChR2-reporter mouse line and recorded post-synaptic responses in thalamocortical relay neurons in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN) of the thalamus evoked by stimulation with 460 nm light. The use of a Opn4-Cre reporter system allowed for expression of ChR2 in a narrow subset of RGCs responsible for image-forming vision in mice. Five weeks following OHT induction, paired pulse and high-frequency stimulus train experiments revealed that presynaptic vesicle release probability at retinogeniculate synapses was elevated. Additionally, miniature synaptic current frequency was slightly reduced in brain slices from OHT mice and proximal dendrites of post-synaptic dLGN relay neurons, assessed using a Sholl analysis, showed a reduced complexity. Strikingly, these changes occurred prior to major loss of RGCs labeled with the Opn4-Cre mouse, as indicated by immunofluorescence staining of ChR2-expressing retinal neurons. Thus, OHT leads to pre- and post-synaptic functional and structural changes at retinogeniculate synapses. Along with RGC dendritic remodeling and optic nerve transport changes, these retinogeniculate synaptic changes are among the earliest signs of glaucoma.

27Axonopathy is a hallmark of many neurodegenerative diseases including glaucoma, where elevated 28 intraocular pressure (ocular hypertension, OHT) stresses retinal ganglion cell (RGC) axons as they exit 29 the eye and form the optic nerve. OHT causes early changes in the optic nerve such as axon atrophy, 30 transport inhibition, and gliosis. Importantly, many of these changes appear to occur prior to irreversible 31 neuronal loss, making them promising points for early diagnosis of glaucoma. It is unknown whether 32OHT has similarly early effects on the function of RGC output to the brain. To test this possibility, we 33 elevated eye pressure in mice by anterior chamber injection of polystyrene microbeads. 5 weeks post-34injection, bead-injected eyes showed a modest RGC loss in the peripheral retina, as evidenced by RBPMS 35 antibody staining. Additionally, we observed reduced dendritic complexity and lower spontaneous spike 36 rate of On-RGCs, targeted for patch clamp recording and dye filling using a Opn4-cre reporter mouse 37 line. To determine the influence of OHT on retinal projections to the brain, we expressed 38Channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) in melanopsin-expressing retinal ganglion cells by crossing the Opn4-cre 39 mouse line with a ChR2-reporter mouse line and recorded post-synaptic responses in thalamocortical 40relay neurons in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN) of the thalamus evoked by stimulation with 41 460 nm light. The use of a Opn4-cre reporter system allowed for expression of ChR2 in a narrow subset 42of RGCs responsible for image-forming vision in mice. Five weeks following OHT induction, paired 43 pulse and high-frequency stimulus train experiments revealed that presynaptic vesicle release probability 44at retinogeniculate synapses was elevated. Additionally, miniature synaptic current frequency was slightly 45 reduced in brain slices from OHT mice and proximal dendrites of post-synaptic dLGN relay neurons, 46assessed using a Sholl analysis, showed a reduced complexity. Strikingly, these changes occurred prior to 47 major loss of RGCs labeled with the Opn4-Cre mouse, as indicated by immunofluorescence staining of 48ChR2-expressing retinal neurons. Thus, OHT leads to pre-and post-synaptic functional and structural 49 changes at retinogeniculate synapses. Along with RGC dendritic remodeling and optic nerve transport 50 changes, these retinogeniculate synaptic changes are among the earliest signs of glaucoma. 51 52

Homeostatic plasticity plays important role in regulating synaptic and intrinsic neuronal function to stabilize output following perturbations to circuit activity. In glaucoma, a neurodegenerative disease of the visual system commonly associated with elevated intraocular pressure (IOP), the early disease is associated with altered synaptic inputs to retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), changes in RGC intrinsic excitability, and deficits in optic nerve transport and energy metabolism. These early functional changes can precede RGC degeneration and are likely to alter RGC outputs to their target structures in the brain and thereby trigger homeostatic changes in synaptic and neuronal properties in those brain regions. In this study, we sought to determine whether and how neuronal and synaptic function is altered in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN), an important RGC projection target in the thalamus, and how functional changes related to IOP. We accomplished this using patch-clamp recordings from thalamocortical (TC) relay neurons in the dLGN in two established mouse models of glaucoma—the DBA/2J (D2) genetic mouse model and an inducible glaucoma model with intracameral microbead injections to elevate IOP. We found that the intrinsic excitability of TC neurons was enhanced in D2 mice and these functional changes were mirrored in recordings of TC neurons from microbead-injected mice. Notably, many neuronal properties were correlated with IOP in older D2 mice, when IOP rises. The frequency of miniature excitatory synaptic currents (mEPSCs) was reduced in 9-month-old D2 mice, and vGlut2 staining of RGC synaptic terminals was reduced in an IOP-dependent manner. These data suggest that glaucoma-associated changes to neuronal excitability and synaptic inputs in the dLGN might represent a combination of both stabilizing/homeostatic plasticity and pathological dysfunction.