Pattern of retinal morphological and functional decay in a light-inducible, rhodopsin mutant mouse

Hallmarks of Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), a family of genetic diseases, are a typical rod-cone-degeneration with initial night blindness and loss of peripheral vision, followed by decreased daylight sight and progressive visual acuity loss up to legal blindness. Great heterogeneity in nature and function of mutated genes, variety of mutations for each of them, variability in phenotypic appearance and transmission modality contribute to make RP a still incurable disease. Translational research relies on appropriate animal models mimicking the genetic and phenotypic diversity of the human pathology. Here, we provide a systematic, morphological and functional analysis of Rho^Tvrm4/Rho⁺ rhodopsin mutant mice, originally described in 2010 and portraying several features of common forms of autosomal dominant RP caused by gain-of-function mutations. These mice undergo photoreceptor degeneration only when exposed briefly to strong, white light and allow controlled timing of induction of rod and cone death, which therefore can be elicited in adult animals, as observed in human RP. The option to control severity and retinal extent of the phenotype by regulating intensity and duration of the inducing light opens possibilities to exploit this model for multiple experimental purposes. Altogether, the unique features of this mutant make it an excellent resource for retinal degeneration research.