Abstract
Purpose :
Geographic atrophy (GA), an advanced form of dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), has limited treatment options. The present study demonstrates an easy-to-use mouse model featuring an expanding GA patch that can be used to test therapeutics.
Methods :
Three-month-old male mice received intraperitoneal (IP) injections of 20 mg/kg sodium iodate (NaIO3). In vivo cSLO and OCT imaging sessions were conducted at 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 weeks post-injection, with GA area measurements taken at weeks 8 and 16. The mice were euthanized on week 16 for histological analysis.
Results :
Administration of 20 mg/kg IP NaIO3 resulted in varying degrees of damage. Approximately 20% of cases exhibited damage covering 35-90% of the cSLO image at one week post-injection (captured with a 102° field of view lens). In these instances, GA manifested by week 8. Subsequently, the GA area expanded by roughly 1.5-fold between weeks 8 and 16. This region of atrophy lacked photoreceptors and RPE, while the inner retina showed relatively minimal damage.
Conclusions :
Although GA formation occurred in only about 20% of mice injected with 20 mg/kg IP NaIO3, the model's ease of administration and ability to select within a week the mice that will develop GA, it seems suitable for GA therapeutic experimentation. Analogously, the rate of GA expansion was used as the primary endpoint for the recently FDA approved complement inhibitors.
This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.