Abstract
Purpose :
Retinal light injury models can be useful in understanding aspects of retinal degeneration and retinal oxidative stress. We recently developed and reported on a new model of fundus camera-delivered light-induced retinal degeneration (FCD-LIRD). In the current study our aim was to test whether oxidative stress response enzymes have an impact on the level of retinal injury induced by FCD-LIRD.
Methods :
Age-matched C57BL/6J and SOD1/DJ1/Parkin TKO mice (triple-KO or “TKO” mice are deficient in oxidative stress response enzymes SOD1, DJ1 and Parkin) were used at 6-12 wk of age and exposed to FCD-LIRD. Both male and female mice were used. Eyes were monitored with fundus photography and OCT. On separate experiments, eyes were collected 4h or 24h after FCD-LIRD to test expression changes in cell signaling-related genes using an RT2 Profiler PCR Array (Qiagen), and results were confirmed by qPCR. The effect on RPE cells was evaluated with ZO-1 staining of flat mounts.
Results :
There was a significant increase in retinal damage after FCD-LIRD in TKO mice compared to C57BL/6J, indicating that oxidative stress is an important aspect of the mechanism of injury in FCD-LIRD. Increased damage was confirmed by fundus photography and OCT volume measurements. Gene expression changes in genes related to oxidative stress response and signaling were noted at 4 and 24h after FCD-LIRD. Prominent changes in RPE cells were seen in TKO mice compared to B6J mice.
Conclusions :
FCD-LIRD leads to oxidative stress-mediated retinal damage, which is exacerbated in the absence of oxidative stress response enzymes. Further studies will be aimed at elucidating the specific pathways involved in the retinal response to oxidative stress.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2017 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Baltimore, MD, May 7-11, 2017.