title: Susceptibility to N-methyl-N-nitrosourea-induced retinal degeneration in different rat strains.
abstract: To evaluate the potential role of genetic background in the susceptibility to retinal degeneration induced by N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU), female rats of the Sprague-Dawley (SD), Long-Evans (LE) and Copenhagen (CH) strains were administered 50 mg/kg MNU or saline at 7 weeks of age. Retina morphology and morphometric analysis of all rats was performed 7 days after MNU administration. Atrophy of both the peripheral and central outer retina occurred in all rat strains exposed to MNU. Decreased photoreceptor cell ratio and increased retinal damage ratio were observed. The severities of the retinal atrophy were similar among all three rat strains. In conclusion, MNU-induced photoreceptor degeneration developed consistently in all three strains regardless of the absence (SD rats) or presence (LE and CH rats) of melanin in the retina, suggesting that genetic and melanin factors did not affect photoreceptor cell death after MNU.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology II, Kansai Medical University, 2-5-1 Shin-machi, Hirakata, Osaka 573-1010, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Emoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology II, Kansai Medical University, 2-5-1 Shin-machi, Hirakata, Osaka 573-1010, Japan.
authors.forename: Katsuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoshizawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology II, Kansai Medical University, 2-5-1 Shin-machi, Hirakata, Osaka 573-1010, Japan; Division of Diagnostic Cytopathology and Histopathology, Kansai Medical University Takii Hospital, 10-15 Fumizono, Moriguchi, Osaka 570-8506, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kinoshita
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology II, Kansai Medical University, 2-5-1 Shin-machi, Hirakata, Osaka 573-1010, Japan.
authors.forename: Michiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yuki
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology II, Kansai Medical University, 2-5-1 Shin-machi, Hirakata, Osaka 573-1010, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yuri
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology II, Kansai Medical University, 2-5-1 Shin-machi, Hirakata, Osaka 573-1010, Japan.
authors.forename: Airo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tsubura
keywords: N-methyl-N-nitrosourea; rats; retinal degeneration; strain difference