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Ablation of C/EBP homologous protein does not protect T17M RHO mice from retinal degeneration.

ABSTRACT: Despite the proposed link between ablation of the CHOP protein and delay of the onset of ER stress-mediated disorders including diabetes, Alzheimer Disease, and cardiac hypertrophy, the role of CHOP protein in photoreceptor cell death associated with Autosomal Dominant Retinitis Pigmentosa (ADRP) has not been investigated. T17M RHO transgenic mice carry a mutated human rhodopsin transgene, the expression of which in retina leads to protein misfolding, activation of UPR and progressive retinal degeneration. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of CHOP protein in T17M RHO retina. Wild-type, CHOP-/-, T17M RHO and T17M RHO CHOP-/-mice were used in the study. Evaluation of the impact of CHOP ablation was performed using electroretinography (ERG), spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), quantitative Real-Time PCR (qRT-PCR) and western blot analysis. Dark-adapted ERG analysis demonstrated that by 1 month, the T17M RHO CHOP-/- mice had a 70% reduction of the a-wave amplitude compared to the T17M RHO mice. The loss of function in T17M RHO CHOP-/- photoreceptors was associated with a 22-24% decline in the thickness of the outer nuclear layer. These mice had significant reduction in the expression of transcription factors, Crx and Nrl, and also in mouse Rho, and human RHO. The reduction was associated with an 8-fold elevation of the UPR marker, p-eIf2? protein and 30% down-regulation of sXbp1 protein. In addition, the histone deacetylase 1 (Hdac1) protein was 2-fold elevated in the T17M RHO CHOP-/- retina. The ablation of CHOP led to a reduction in the expression of photoreceptor-specific transcriptional factors, and both endogenous and exogenous RHO mRNA. Thus, despite its role in promoting apoptosis, CHOP protects rod photoreceptors carrying an ADRP mutation.

SUBMITTER: Nashine S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3640035 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Ablation of C/EBP homologous protein does not protect T17M RHO mice from retinal degeneration.

Nashine Sonali S Bhootada Yogesh Y Lewin Alfred S AS Gorbatyuk Marina M

PloS one 20130430 4

Despite the proposed link between ablation of the CHOP protein and delay of the onset of ER stress-mediated disorders including diabetes, Alzheimer Disease, and cardiac hypertrophy, the role of CHOP protein in photoreceptor cell death associated with Autosomal Dominant Retinitis Pigmentosa (ADRP) has not been investigated. T17M RHO transgenic mice carry a mutated human rhodopsin transgene, the expression of which in retina leads to protein misfolding, activation of UPR and progressive retinal de ...[more]

PMID: 23646198

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Project description:Despite the magnitude of the problem, no effective treatments exist to prevent retinal ganglion cell (RGC) death and optic nerve degeneration from occurring in diseases affecting the human eye. Animal models currently available for developing treatment strategies suffer from cumbersome procedures required to induce RGC death or rely on mutations that induce defects in developing retinas rather than in mature retinas of adults. Our objective was to develop a robust genetically engineered adult mouse model for RGC loss and optic nerve degeneration based on genetic ablation. To achieve this, we took advantage of Pou4f2 (Brn3b), a gene activated immediately as RGCs begin to differentiate and expressed throughout life. We generated adult mice whose genomes harbored a conditional Pou4f2 allele containing a floxed-lacZ-stop-diphtheria toxin A cassette and a CAGG-Cre-ER transgene. In this bigenic model, Cre recombinase is fused to a modified estrogen nuclear receptor in which the estrogen-binding domain binds preferentially to the estrogen agonist tamoxifen rather than to endogenous estradiol. Upon binding to the estrogen-binding domain, tamoxifen derepresses Cre recombinase, leading to the efficient genomic deletion of the floxed-lacZ-stop DNA sequence and expression of diphtheria toxin A. Tamoxifen administered to adult mice at different ages by intraperitoneal injection led to rapid RGC loss, reactive gliosis, progressive degradation of the optic nerve over a period of several months, and visual impairment. Perhaps more reflective of human disease, partial loss of RGCs was achieved by modulating the tamoxifen treatment. Especially relevant for RGC death and optic nerve degeneration in human retinal pathologies, RGC-ablated retinas maintained their structural integrity, and other retinal neurons and their connections in the inner and outer plexiform layers appeared unaffected by RGC ablation. These events are hallmarks of progressive optic nerve degeneration observed in human retinal pathologies and demonstrate the validity of this model for use in developing stem cell therapies for replacing dead RGCs with healthy ones.

Dataset Information

Ablation of C/EBP homologous protein does not protect T17M RHO mice from retinal degeneration.

Publications

Ablation of C/EBP homologous protein does not protect T17M RHO mice from retinal degeneration.

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