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Updated: May 13, 2025
A Protocol to Evaluate and Quantify Retinal Pigmented Epithelium Pathologies in Mouse Models of Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Published on: March 10, 2023
Development of a human RPE In vitro model with AMD-like features reveals blue light-induced modulation of the
Camilla Di Meo1, Annamaria Tisi2, Anna Rita Lizzi2
1Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'Aquila, 67100, L'Aquila, Italy; Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Teramo, Teramo, Italy.
Abstract:
Blue light (BL) is a known risk factor for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a retinal pathology where damage to the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is one of the earliest events. While the endocannabinoid system (ECS) is implicated in various physio-pathological conditions of the retina, its role in BL-injured RPE has not yet been addressed. To fill this gap, we developed an in vitro model of BL-induced human RPE damage showing key features of AMD: cytotoxicity, cell cycle arrest, oxidative stress, inflammation, and cellular senescence. Notably, our model demonstrates modulation of gene and protein expression of specific ECS elements, particularly cannabinoid receptors 1 and 2 (CB1 and CB2), thus providing unprecedented evidence of ECS dysregulation in RPE cells upon BL exposure.
