A Zebrafish Model of Retinitis Pigmentosa Shows Continuous Degeneration and Regeneration of Rod Photoreceptors.

ABSTRACT: More than 1.5 million people suffer from Retinitis Pigmentosa, with many experiencing partial to complete vision loss. Regenerative therapies offer some hope, but their development is challenged by the limited regenerative capacity of mammalian model systems. As a step toward investigating regenerative therapies, we developed a zebrafish model of Retinitis Pigmentosa that displays ongoing regeneration. We used Tol2 transgenesis to express mouse rhodopsin carrying the P23H mutation and an epitope tag in zebrafish rod photoreceptors. Adult and juvenile fish were examined by immunofluorescence, TUNEL and BrdU incorporation assays. P23H transgenic fish expressed the transgene in rods from 3 days post fertilization onward. Rods expressing the mutant rhodopsin formed very small or no outer segme

SUBMITTER: Santhanam A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7599532 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature