PUBLICATION
A Zebrafish Model of Retinitis Pigmentosa Shows Continuous Degeneration and Regeneration of Rod Photoreceptors
- Authors
- Santhanam, A., Shihabeddin, E., Atkinson, J.A., Nguyen, D., Lin, Y.P., O'Brien, J.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-201011-5
- Date
- 2020
- Source
- Cells 9(10): (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Lin, Ya-Ping, O'Brien, John
- Keywords
- Müller cell, P23H rhodopsin, bipolar cell, cone, retinal degeneration, retinal progenitor cell, transgenic
- MeSH Terms
-
- Animals
- Disease Models, Animal
- Retinal Rod Photoreceptor Cells/physiology*
- Retinitis Pigmentosa/genetics*
- Retinitis Pigmentosa/pathology
- Zebrafish
- PubMed
- 33036185 Full text @ Cells
Citation
Santhanam, A., Shihabeddin, E., Atkinson, J.A., Nguyen, D., Lin, Y.P., O'Brien, J. (2020) A Zebrafish Model of Retinitis Pigmentosa Shows Continuous Degeneration and Regeneration of Rod Photoreceptors. Cells. 9(10):.
Abstract
More than 1.5 million people suffer from Retinitis Pigmentosa, with many experiencing partial to complete vision loss. Regenerative therapies offer some hope, but their development is challenged by the limited regenerative capacity of mammalian model systems. As a step toward investigating regenerative therapies, we developed a zebrafish model of Retinitis Pigmentosa that displays ongoing regeneration. We used Tol2 transgenesis to express mouse rhodopsin carrying the P23H mutation and an epitope tag in zebrafish rod photoreceptors. Adult and juvenile fish were examined by immunofluorescence, TUNEL and BrdU incorporation assays. P23H transgenic fish expressed the transgene in rods from 3 days post fertilization onward. Rods expressing the mutant rhodopsin formed very small or no outer segments and the mutant protein was delocalized over the entire cell. Adult fish displayed thinning of the outer nuclear layer (ONL) and loss of rod outer segments, but retained a single, sparse row of rods. Adult fish displayed ongoing apoptotic cell death in the ONL and an abundance of proliferating cells, predominantly in the ONL. There was a modest remodeling of bipolar and Müller glial cells. This transgenic fish will provide a useful model system to study rod photoreceptor regeneration and integration.
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping