Schaffrath Kim, Ingensiep Claudia, Müller Frank, Walter Peter, Johnen Sandra
Department of Ophthalmology, Uniklinik RWTH Aachen, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074, Aachen, Germany.
Institute of Biological Information Processing, Molecular and Cellular Physiology (IBI-1), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Wilhelm-Johnen-Straße, 52428, Jülich, Germany.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jun 20;15(1):20209. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-06440-9.
The rd10 mouse is a widely used model for degenerative retinal diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Its retina shows rhythmic spontaneous activity at a frequency of three to seven Hz, and the retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are less electrically excitable. We hypothesize that the electrical excitability can be improved by suppressing the oscillations using the neuroprotective drugs 2-aminoethanesulphonic acid (taurine), brimonidine and betaxolol. These are involved in calcium homeostasis and may play a crucial role in neuroprotection and excitotoxicity by preventing Ca overload. Spontaneous activity and responses to electrical stimulation of isolated retinas from 3- to 4-month-old rd10 mice were recorded using multielectrode arrays. At defined times, the neuroprotectants were repeatedly added to the medium according to a standardized protocol to analyze the reproducibility and reversibility of their effects. Taurine and betaxolol significantly reduced oscillations and bursting behavior and ameliorated electrical efficiency. Brimonidine only reduced the frequency of oscillations. The effects on oscillation, spontaneous firing frequency, bursting behavior and stimulation efficiency were reproducible and reversible. The drugs tested appear to be promising therapeutic candidates for improving the residual function of RGCs. They will be further investigated and combined with other RP treatments, such as retinal prostheses, in the future.
rd10小鼠是一种广泛用于视网膜色素变性(RP)等退行性视网膜疾病的模型。其视网膜以3至7赫兹的频率呈现节律性自发活动,并且视网膜神经节细胞(RGCs)的电兴奋性较低。我们假设使用神经保护药物2-氨基乙磺酸(牛磺酸)、溴莫尼定和倍他洛尔抑制振荡可以提高电兴奋性。这些药物参与钙稳态,并且可能通过防止钙超载在神经保护和兴奋性毒性中发挥关键作用。使用多电极阵列记录3至4月龄rd10小鼠分离视网膜的自发活动和对电刺激的反应。在特定时间,根据标准化方案将神经保护剂反复添加到培养基中,以分析其作用的可重复性和可逆性。牛磺酸和倍他洛尔显著降低了振荡和爆发行为,并改善了电效率。溴莫尼定仅降低了振荡频率。对振荡、自发放电频率、爆发行为和刺激效率的影响是可重复和可逆的。所测试的药物似乎是改善RGCs残余功能的有前景的治疗候选药物。未来将对它们进行进一步研究,并与其他RP治疗方法(如视网膜假体)相结合。