gms | German Medical Science

Artificial Vision 2017

The International Symposium on Visual Prosthetics

01.12. - 02.12.2017, Aachen

Establishment and characterization of a UV-induced photoreceptor degeneration mouse model

Meeting Abstract

  • Anna-Marina van der Meer - Department of Ophthalmology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
  • F. Müller - Institute of Complex Systems, Cellular Biophysics, ICS-4, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich, Germany
  • S. Johnen - Department of Ophthalmology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
  • P. Walter - Department of Ophthalmology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

Artificial Vision 2017. Aachen, 01.-02.12.2017. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2017. Doc17artvis02

doi: 10.3205/17artvis02, urn:nbn:de:0183-17artvis025

Published: November 30, 2017

© 2017 Meer et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. See license information at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.


Outline

Text

Objective: In order to test retinal implants and establish surgical procedures for patients suffering from retinal degenerative diseases, e.g. retinitis pigmentosa (RP), large-eye animal models emulating the characteristics of RP are required. Here, we characterize a unilateral UV-induced photoreceptor degeneration model in the mouse, which is required to transfer the method to the large-eye rabbit model.

Material and Methods: Left eyes of female C57Bl/6J mice (PNW 8-12) were irradiated with a UV-LED at 370 nm (7.5 J/cm²). A lens was placed between LED and cornea that allows illumination of about one third of the retina. At different times post irradiation (n=8 per group), optical coherence tomography (OCT) and full-field electroretinography (ERG) were performed. Finally, animals were euthanized and the eyes were used for immunohistochemistry (n=4 per group) or microelectrode array (MEA) recordings (n=4 per group). Right eyes served as non-treated controls.

Results: In OCT scans, a decreased thickness was visible at five days post irradiation (76 ± 2.9%), dropping to 60 ± 4.0% at one week and stabilizing at 50 ± 3.7% at two weeks after irradiation. In ERGs, the a-wave decreased to 34 ± 6.3%, while the b-wave dropped to 24.5 ± 8.9% at five days post irradiation without any recovery. In MEA recordings, oscillatory potentials with a mean frequency of 5.3 ± 0.7 Hz were detected, which occurred already five days after irradiation. Structural changes in the retina were observed in immunohistochemistry and were comparable to those known from rd10 mice. UV-irradiation is a suitable and efficient method to induce photoreceptor degeneration in the mouse retina, while leaving the other retinal layers intact. The restriction that only a third of the retina could be irradiated was compensated by the feasibility to identify and localize the degenerated area in OCT scans. The approach is currently transferred to the large-eye rabbit model, which will allow for testing and optimization of newly developed retinal devices.

Acknowledgement: DFG grants WA-1472/6-3 to PW, JO-1263/1-3 to SJ, and MU-3036/3-3 to FM.