Abstract
Purpose :
Sodium iodate (NaIO3)-induced retinal degeneration is a widely used model to investigate late stage dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a multifactorial disease characterized by retinal degeneration, retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) damage, oxidative stress and inflammation that ultimately leads to blindness and for which no therapy is currently available. The aim of this study was to characterize expression of inflammatory markers in the mouse NaIO3 model.
Methods :
Male C57BL/6J mice (7- to 8-week-old) were intraperitoneally injected with 50mg/kg NaIO3 or phosphate buffered saline. One or three days later, protein lysates were prepared from retina and RPE/choroid tissues. The expression of ten different cytokines (IFNγ, IL1β, IL2, IL4, IL5, IL6, CXCL1, IL10, IL12p70 and TNFα) were analyzed using the mouse proinflammatory panel 1 (Mesoscale).
Results :
In the retina, NaIO3 treatment significantly increased IL1β, IL6, CXCL1 and TNFα levels at both day one and three. Interestingly, these protein levels decreased from day one to day three. In the RPE/choroid, NaIO3 treatment significantly increased IL1β and CXCL1 levels at day three. In contrast to the retina, IL1β and CXCL1 levels increased from day one to day three. Other cytokine levels were unaffected or below the lower limit of detection.
Conclusions :
In conclusion, NaIO3 treatment results in acute increase of specific inflammatory proteins in the retina and RPE/choroid. The data suggests that, after the NaIO3 insult, the inflammatory marker levels first peak in the retina, followed by the RPE/choroid. Overall, the mouse NaIO3 model is an attractive tool to investigate AMD hallmarks, including inflammation.
This is a 2021 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.