The BXD32 Mouse: A High-Fidelity Model of Chronic Retinal Inflammation and Photoreceptor Degeneration

The study of retinal degenerations (RDs) is a field involving all aspects of retinal anatomy, physiology, and genetics. RDs are heterogeneous involving many genes and systems underlying their pathogeneses. To understand these processes, animal models act as surrogates for human studies; however, an ever-existent issue is few models offer high-fidelity and direct correlations to the human condition. Our recent work has established an animal model that is able to fill both needs. The BXD32 mouse exhibits a polygenic inherited retinal dystrophy (IRD) that correlates to human disease through aberrant disc formation and chronic retinal inflammation working in concert with the genetic underliers to advance the disease. This model can serve to test anti-inflammatory treatments directly to affected tissue avoiding systemic issues as well as understanding the pathophysiology of human IRDs.