Changes in vision are an inevitable part of aging, but why are they more susceptible to age -related ocular diseases and why some people experience a more serious decrease than others? New research by the Jackson Laboratory (Jax) reveals that genetics plays a key role in how eyes age, with different genetic origins that influence the aging of the retina differently.
The study, published in Molecular neurodegenerationHe examined the changes related to age in the genes and protein of the retinas of nine mice strains, imitating the genetic variability found in humans. While all mice exhibited expected signs of aging, the severity and nature of these changes varying significantly between the nine strains.
A more accurate approach to ocular aging
Traditionally, studies of aging and retinal disease have been based on a single strain of genetically identical mice, which limits the capacity of researchers to understand the role of genetic variation. “The challenge in the study of age -related ocular diseases is that aging is heterogeneous,” said Gareth Howell, professor and president of the Diana Davis Spencer Foundation for glaucoma research in Jax, who directed the investigation. “Observing how aging in a mouse strain can not be relevant to all mice, or humans. To overcome the limitations of previous studies, we wanted to know how the genetic context drives the aging of the retina.”
In his work, Howell and his team took advantage of nine mice strains with different genetic origins designed to better reflect human variability, generating data on genetic and molecular changes related to age in young and old mice. With your data set now available, Howell and your team expect your findings to help other scientists to study aging and loss of vision, a work that can also improve the usefulness of the eye as a window to the brain to predict the neurological decline.
Genetic and protein analysis predict ocular diseases
One of the most significant discoveries in the study was the identification of two mouse strains that are very similar to human retinal diseases. When performing eye exams, such as what a human would suffer in a routine optometrist appoint of blindness, while the Obesa of New Zealand strain (NZO), known for its severe obesity and Diabetes, developed diabetic retinopathy. In addition, the analysis of genes and proteins in both mice strains predicted that they would develop age -related eye diseases.
“It was promising to see that the molecular data that we generated predicted specific abnormalities of retinal cells in these two strains,” said Olivia Marola, postdoctoral associate of Jax and co-direct the New Paper. “When we saw unique changes in retinal ganglionic cells at the molecular level, we indeed saw drastic functional changes in those cells.”
These models will allow researchers to study how these diseases progress and explore possible treatments, explained Michael Maclean, postdoctoral associate and co-first of the work.
You could also help other scientists to choose which mouse models to use in your own work related to aging or carry out more studies to identify individual genes associated with accelerated ocular aging and eye diseases, such as cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration and Diabetic retinopathy.
Retina as Alzheimer’s biomarker
Beyond vision research, this study could have broader implications for neurodegenerative diseases. Since the retina is a direct extension of the brain, understanding how ages could provide clues about conditions such as Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.
“The eye is a crucial organ, and this research fills an important emptiness in our understanding of aging,” Howell said. “But beyond that, the eye is a window to the brain. By understanding how the healthy eye ages, we can work towards new ways to use the eyes to determine the risk of people to develop diseases such as Alzheimer’s.”