Chemokine CCL5 promotes robust optic nerve regeneration and mediates many of the effects of CNTF gene therapy

Significance CNTF is a leading therapeutic candidate for glaucoma and other ocular diseases and is widely used experimentally to promote axon regeneration after optic nerve injury. Paradoxically, whereas CNTF gene therapy is neuroprotective for retinal ganglion cells and promotes considerable regeneration following optic nerve injury, recombinant CNTF has little effect. We show that CNTF gene therapy exacerbates the inflammatory reaction to...