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Functional and morphological evaluation of blue light-emitting diode-induced retinal degeneration in mice

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a retinal degeneration (RD) model induced by exposing mice to a blue light-emitting diode (LED), which led to photoreceptor cell death.

Methods

RD was induced in BALB/c mice by exposure to a blue LED (460 nm) for 2 hours. Retinal function was examined using scotopic electroretinography (ERG). Histopathological changes were assessed by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining and electron microscopy. Apoptotic cell death was evaluated by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay. In addition, retinal inflammation and oxidative stress were evaluated by immunohistochemistry with anti-glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and anti-8-hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), respectively.

Results

Scotopic ERG showed that blue LED exposure resulted in a decrease in both a-waves and b-waves in mice retinas in an illuminance-dependent manner. H&E, TUNEL assay, and electron microscopy revealed massive photoreceptor cell death by apoptosis in the central region of the retina. Retinal stress and inflammation were detected by increased expression of GFAP and by electron microscopy findings demonstrating microglia infiltration in the outer nuclear layer and subretinal space. In addition, increased labeling of 8-OHdG was observed in the retinas from blue LED exposure.

Conclusions

These results suggest that blue LED-induced RD may be a useful animal model in which to study the pathogenesis of RD, including age-related macular degeneration, and to evaluate the effects of new therapeutic agents prior to clinical trials, where oxidative stress and inflammation are the underlying RD mechanisms.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy, Catholic Neuroscience Institute, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, 505 Banpo-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, 137-701, Korea

    Gyu Hyun Kim, Sun-Sook Paik, Sung Won Jung & In-Beom Kim

  2. Gyeongju St. Mary’s Eye Clinic, 293 Wonhwa-ro, Gyeongju-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, 780-946, Korea

    Hyung Il Kim

  3. Department of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, 505 Banpo-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, 137-701, Korea

    Seungbum Kang

  4. Catholic Institute for Applied Anatomy, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, 505 Banpo-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, 137-701, Korea

    In-Beom Kim

Authors
  1. Gyu Hyun Kim
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Correspondence to In-Beom Kim.

Ethics declarations

All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. All procedures performed in studies involving animals were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Catholic Ethics Committee of the Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, which conform to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) guidelines for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (NIH publication no. 80–23), as revised in 1996, or the practice at which the studies were conducted.

Funding

Financial support was provided by the Catholic Medical Center Research Foundation in program year 2013 and by the National Research Foundation (NRF) of Korea in the form of Basic Science Research Program no. 2013R1A2A2A01014070.

Conflict of interest

All authors certify that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest (such as honoraria; educational grants; participation in speakers’ bureaus; membership, employment, consultancies, stock ownership, or other equity interest; or expert testimony or patent-licensing arrangements) or non-financial interest (such as personal or professional relationships, affiliations, knowledge or beliefs) in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.

Additional information

This work was supported by the Catholic Medical Center Research Foundation in program year 2013 and the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology (2013R1A2A2A01014070).

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Kim, G.H., Kim, H.I., Paik, SS. et al. Functional and morphological evaluation of blue light-emitting diode-induced retinal degeneration in mice. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 254, 705–716 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-015-3258-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-015-3258-x

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