%0 Journal Article %A Sher-Rosenthal, Ifat %A Bubis, Ettel %A Ketter-Katz, Hadas %A Derazne, Estela %A Sennlaub, Florian %A Rotenstreich, Ygal %T Migration of mononuclear phagocytes into the subretina contributes to retinal degeneration in the Leber congenital amaurosis RPE65/rd12 mouse model %B Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science %D 2020 %J Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science %V 61 %N 7 %P 703-703 %@ 1552-5783 %X To assess the role of Mononuclear Phagocytes (MP) in retinal degeneration in the RPE65/rd12 mouse model Thirty-nine RPE65/rd12 and ten C57BL/6J wild-type mice were used. RPE65/rd12 mice were treated with minocycline by daily intraperitoneal injection (50 mg/kg) for 8 weeks starting at age post-natal day 28 (p28). MP density in the sub-retina was determined by choroid-RPE flat-mount analysis and retinal function was determined by electroretinogram (ERG). MPs in the C57BL/6J retinas at p28 and p84 were exclusively located in the inner retinal layers. In RPE65/rd12 retinas, MPs migrated into the sub-retina as early as p56. By p84 the density of MPs in the sub-retina increased by nearly 3-fold. MP density in the central retina was higher by 2 fold compared with the peripheral retina. Minocycline treatment reduced MP density in the peripheral sub-retina by 59% (16.2±1.8 cell/mm2 vs. 27.2±2.4 cell/mm2, p<0.01). Maximal ERG b-wave responses were significantly higher in minocycline- vs. placebo- treated mice under light adaptation conditions following 8 weeks of treatment (mean ± SE: 199µv ± 28µv vs. 129.8µv ±9.8µv, p=0.016). MP migration into the subretina contributes to retinal degeneration in RPE65/rd12 mice. These results may provide a rationale for developing treatments that target MP migration for treating LCA and possibly other RP forms associated with retinoid cycle defects. This is a 2020 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract. %[ 1/21/2021