Retinal vascular remodeling in photoreceptor degenerative disease

Abnormal vasculature in the retina, specifically tortuous vessels and capillary degeneration, is common in many of the most prevalent retinal degenerative diseases, currently affecting millions of people across the world. However, the formation and development of abnormal vasculature in the context of retinal degenerative diseases are still poorly understood. The FVB/N (rd1) and rd10 mice are well-studied animal models of retinal degenerative diseases, but how photoreceptor degeneration leads to vascular abnormality in the diseases remains to be elucidated. Here, we used advancements in confocal microscopy, immunohistochemistry, and image analysis software to systematically characterize the pathological vasculature in the FVB/N (rd1) and rd10 mice, known as a chronic, rapid and slower retinal degenerative model, respectively. We demonstrated that there was plexus-specific vascular degeneration in the retinal trilaminar vascular network paralleled to photoreceptor degeneration in the diseased retinas. We also quantitatively analyzed the vascular structural architecture in the wild-type and diseased retinas to provide valuable information on vascular remodeling in retinal degenerative disease.