Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'Aquila, 67100 L'Aquila, Italy.
Department of Life, Health & Environmental Sciences, University of L'Aquila, 67100 L'Aquila, Italy.
Rev Neurosci. 2023 Dec 29;35(3):303-330. doi: 10.1515/revneuro-2023-0130. Print 2024 Apr 25.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a complex, multifactorial disease leading to progressive and irreversible retinal degeneration, whose pathogenesis has not been fully elucidated yet. Due to the complexity and to the multiple features of the disease, many efforts have been made to develop animal models which faithfully reproduce the overall AMD hallmarks or that are able to mimic the different AMD stages. In this context, light damage (LD) rodent models of AMD represent a suitable and reliable approach to mimic the different AMD forms (dry, wet and geographic atrophy) while maintaining the time-dependent progression of the disease. In this review, we comprehensively reported how the LD paradigms reproduce the main features of human AMD. We discuss the capability of these models to broaden the knowledge in AMD research, with a focus on the mechanisms and the molecular hallmarks underlying the pathogenesis of the disease. We also critically revise the remaining challenges and future directions for the use of LD models.
年龄相关性黄斑变性（AMD）是一种复杂的多因素疾病，导致进行性和不可逆转的视网膜变性，其发病机制尚未完全阐明。由于疾病的复杂性和多种特征，人们已经做出了许多努力来开发能够忠实地再现 AMD 整体特征的动物模型，或者能够模拟不同 AMD 阶段的动物模型。在这种情况下，光损伤（LD）AMD 啮齿动物模型是一种合适且可靠的方法，可以模拟不同的 AMD 形式（干性、湿性和地理萎缩），同时保持疾病的时间依赖性进展。在这篇综述中，我们全面报道了 LD 范式如何再现人类 AMD 的主要特征。我们讨论了这些模型在 AMD 研究中扩展知识的能力，重点是疾病发病机制背后的机制和分子特征。我们还批判性地审查了 LD 模型使用的剩余挑战和未来方向。
