New rat model for retinal degenerative diseases

Outer retinal degenerative diseases, the leading cause of blindness in the Western world, involve the degeneration of photoreceptors, the light-detecting cells in the retina. Typically, inner retinal cells remain unaffected. Age-related Macular Degeneration and Retinitis Pigmentosa, a group of hereditary retinal dystrophies, are the most prevalent diseases within this category. Research on these conditions focuses on monitoring the activation of ganglion cells, which transmit retinal information to the brain. Post-disease activation may be induced artificially or through cell replacement therapy. Currently, genetically modified models for said research are limited to mice,  which is challenging due to their small eyes. In a recent article in Cell and Developmental Biology, Prof. Yossi Mandel and colleagues introduce a new rat model for studying retinal degenerative diseases. The model expresses the fluorescent calcium indicator GCaMP6f in retinal ganglion cells, facilitating optical investigations during prosthetic activation studies.