Hyperplastic neuroretinopathy and disorder of pigment epithelial cells precede accelerated retinal degeneration in the SJL/N mouse.
We have found a complex eye disease in the SJL/N mouse. This animal is closely related to the SJL/J mouse, which is homozygous for retinal degeneration (rd) and which also suffers from extraocular reticulum cell sarcomas at around 200 days of age. In the SJL/N animal, a high incidence of subretinal tumor is present at 9 days after birth. Furthermore, we have observed an extensive neuroretinal hyperplasia, a phenomenon that is termed "hyperplastic neuroretinopathy", and that is probably the consequence of elevated levels of cytokines in the animals. In addition to these anomalies, the SJL/N mouse shows progressive dystrophy of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) from day 4 onwards, and accelerated photoreceptor cell degeneration is completed by day 16. The early RPE dystrophy appears to be a secondary autoimmune disease, since cells in this structure and in the choroid develop MHC class II antigens, whereas we suspect that the accelerated photoreceptor cell loss is induced by a soluble toxic agent. The F1 progeny derived from cross-breeding the SJL/N and Balb/c +/+ strains also shows a high incidence of subretinal tumor and hyperplastic neuroretinopathy, but neither the RPE dystrophy nor retinal degeneration.
University of Göteborg, Department of Zoology, Sweden.
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Caffé
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Szél
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Juliusson
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Hawkins
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van Veen
D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D005134:Eye Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II / Q000032:analysis; D006965:Hyperplasia; D016403:Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C / Q000235:genetics; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains / Q000235:genetics; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains / Q000235:genetics; D009024:Morphogenesis; D009378:Neoplasms, Multiple Primary; D010786:Photoreceptor Cells / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010857:Pigment Epithelium of Eye / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D012160:Retina / Q000473:pathology; D012162:Retinal Degeneration / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*
D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II