Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology · 9 authors, 4 centres
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This preclinical study developed a rabbit model by surgically removing retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) to induce localized outer retinal atrophy. The key result was that RPE removal led to progressive atrophy of the inner and outer nuclear layers of the retina without neovascularization.
The study established a rabbit model for outer retinal atrophy by performing surgical removal of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) in 18 pigmented rabbits. A localized RPE wound was created, and its effects were monitored over 12 weeks using optical coherence tomography, angiography, and histology at 4 days and 12 weeks. The central finding was that the RPE wound closed within 4 days via proliferating RPE and microglia/macrophage cells, but this repair was abnormal, forming a multilayered, mounded appearance. This RPE disruption led to progressive atrophy of the inner and outer nuclear layers of the retina, while no neovascularization was observed. The changes were confined to the original wound site. The study is preclinical and limited to a healthy rabbit retina, which may not directly translate to human AMD pathology due to differences in retinal vascularization and the underlying disease state. The model is proposed as a platform for testing future RPE cell therapies.
