TUDCA’s Protection Of Light Damage Mouse Visual Cone Cells And Mechanism Research

The main pathological features of light-induced retinal injury are the causes of vision loss in a series of retinal diseases,including retinitis pigmentosa(RP)and age-related macular degeneration(AMD).Therefore,the study of light damage model is very important for the development of treatment of human retinal degenerative diseases.At present,the clinical treatment effect of retinal light injury is not ideal,further researches are required toward the development of pharmacological prevention for these diseases.TUDCA is formed from ursodeoxycholic acid(UDCA),and many studies have shown that TUDCA could protect the retina.Therefore,this study aims to explore the protective effect and mechanism of TUDCA in light-induced retinal damage,providing a new therapeutic target and basis for the prevention and treatment of light-induced retinal damage.In this study,light-sensitive one-month-old Balb/c mice were illuminated under2,000 Lux light for 12 hours a day in a customed-made light chamber to establish a model of retinal light damage.Next,the mice were used to study the mechanism of light-induced retinal damage and the protection of cone photoreceptors by TUCDA intervention.After1 day and 2 days of light exposure,the autophagy signature protein in the retina of Balb/c mice was detected by western blot and TUNEL staining.The eyes exposed to light for 14 days were stained by immunohistochemistry to evaluate the effect of 14 days of cycled light on the cones.After 14 days of light exposure and TUDCA treatment,the therapeutic effect of TUDCA on visual function of mice with light damage was evaluated by ERG.Then,the treated mouse eyeballs were subjected to HE staining to assess the effect of TUDCA on the morphology and structure of photoreceptors in the retinas induced bylight damage.Finally,the retinas from treated mice were taken for western blot and immunohistochemical staining to explore the TUDCA effect on the expression and localizationof photoreceptor marker protein in the retina,respectively.The results showed that autophagy was activated and apoptosis occurred in retinal cells of Balb/c mice induced by light.In Balb/c mice,14 days of cyclic light could seriously damage the tissue structure of retina,affect the expression and localization of cone specific proteins,and impair the function of cone cells.TUDCA can prevent apoptosis to a certain extent,protect photosensitive cells from light damage,and save the damage of light on cone function.According to the above experimental results,the autophagic cell death of retinal cells was preliminarily revealed by retinal light damage.And concluded that TUDCA has a protective effect against light damage of cone cells.But the specific regulatory mechanism needs to be further studied.