Age-related changes in the mouse outer retina.
OBJECTIVE
To define the physiological and structural changes that may accompany aging in the normal mouse retina.


METHODS
C57BL/6 mice were maintained under cyclic light for either 2, 6, or 12 months. After rod- and cone-mediated corneal electroretinograms (ERG's) were recorded from anesthetized animals, the retinal structure was quantitatively examined. Photoreceptor cell density was measured within 100-microm regions of the central superior and inferior retina. Cone photoreceptor subtypes were identified by immunocytochemistry.


RESULTS
The amplitudes of rod- and cone-mediated ERG's were reduced in older mice, although the overall ERG wave-form did not change appreciably and implicit times were not changed in an age-dependent fashion. In comparison, there was no significant age-related decline in rod or cone photoreceptor density.


CONCLUSIONS
The amplitude of the mouse ERG declines with age. This change does not appear to reflect a change in the structural integrity of the photoreceptor cells. In functional studies of murine models of late-onset retinal disorders, it will be important to take these changes into consideration.
Li
C
C
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA.
Cheng
M
M
Yang
H
H
Peachey
N S
NS
Naash
M I
MI
D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D002452:Cell Count; D004596:Electroretinography; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; D008027:Light; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D020419:Photoreceptor Cells, Vertebrate / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D012160:Retina / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D017299:Rod Opsins / Q000378:metabolism
D017299:Rod Opsins