Investigating Retinal Pigment Epithelium (RPE) injury response in African Spiny mice (Acomys)

Our goal is to study retinal injury response in spiny mice so that we can define the course of retinal tissue repair and identify molecular factors that influence retinal regeneration.

Degeneration of the neural retina and in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is associated with the advanced atrophic form of dry-AMD. Since photoreceptors in the neural retina and RPE are postmitotic, they cannot be replaced once they die. Therefore, the treatments boosting the endogenous factors to stimulate retinal tissue regeneration could be a novel therapeutic strategy. Our goal is to study ocular regeneration following tissue injury in an animal model that could facilitate studies to develop potential treatments for dry-AMD in humans.

Currently, attempts to drive regenerative capacity in the retina have not yet led to a viable therapeutic approach. This project explores the injury responses of the retina in a novel mouse model that has been shown to have remarkable faster responses of wound closure and healing in models of skin injury. If this mouse provides an understanding of how retinal regeneration might be stimulated and sustained, it could provide an opportunity to develop new targets or methods for human therapy.

Recent progress in characterizing retinal regeneration and development of strategies for stimulating retinal repair in mammals is under intense investigation. There is currently no mammalian animal model that has been shown to naturally regenerate ocular tissues, therefore, any demonstration of enhanced regenerative response to injury in the retina of spiny mice would constitute a significant advancement in the field.