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Updated: May 24, 2025
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A Protocol to Evaluate and Quantify Retinal Pigmented Epithelium Pathologies in Mouse Models of Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Published on: March 10, 2023
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Deciphering age-related transcriptomic changes in the mouse retinal pigment epithelium
Sushil K Dubey1, Rashmi Dubey1, Kyungsik Jung1
1Department of Surgery, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN 37614, USA.
Aging
|March 5, 2025
Summary
Aging retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) shows increased inflammation and oxidative stress. An in vitro model of aged human RPE mimics these changes, aiding research into age-related retinal diseases.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Cellular Biology
- Gerontology
Background:
- Aging retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) homeostasis declines, impacting retinal health.
- Understanding RPE aging mechanisms is key to age-related retinal pathologies.
- Research on RPE aging is limited by a lack of in vitro models.
Purpose of the Study:
- Compare transcriptomes of young and aged mouse RPE.
- Evaluate an in vitro model of chronologically aged primary human RPE.
- Investigate RPE aging mechanisms and screen therapeutic compounds.
Main Methods:
- Transcriptome comparison between young and aged mouse RPE.
- Evaluation of an in vitro model using chronologically aged primary human RPE.
- Gene expression profiling of the in vitro model.
Main Results:
- Aging mouse RPE showed upregulated immunogenic, proinflammatory, and oxidative stress genes.
- Aging RPE exhibited dysregulated visual perception and extracellular matrix pathways.
- The in vitro human RPE model displayed gene expression patterns similar to native-aged RPE.
Conclusions:
- Aging RPE is characterized by inflammation, immune activation, and oxidative stress.
- The in vitro model is a valuable tool for studying RPE aging.
- Findings provide insights into age-related increases in retinal pathology risk.
