Reversal of functional loss in the P23H-3 rat retina by management of ambient light

The present experiments were undertaken to test recovery of function in the retina of the rhodopsin-mutant P23H-3 rat, in response to the management of ambient light. Observations were made in transgenic P23H-3 and non-degenerative Sprague-Dawley albino (SD) rats raised to young adulthood in scotopic cyclic light (12h 5 lx "daylight", 12h dark). The brightness of the day part of the cycle was increased to 300 lx (low end of daylight range) for 1 week, and then reduced to 5 lx for up to 5 weeks. Retinas were assessed for the rate of photoreceptor death (using the TUNEL technique), photoreceptor survival (thickness of the outer nuclear layer), and structure and function of surviving photoreceptors (outer segment (OS) length, electroretinogram (ERG)). Exposure of dim-raised rats to 300 lx for 1 week accelerated photoreceptor death, shortened the OSs of surviving photoreceptors, and reduced the ERG a-wave, more severely in the P23H-3 transgenics. Returning 300 lx-exposed animals to 5 lx conditions decelerated photoreceptor death and allowed regrowth of OSs and recovery of the a-wave. Recovery was substantial in both strains, OS length in the P23H-3 retina increasing from 17% to 90%, and a-wave amplitude from 33% to 45% of control values. Thinning of the ONL over the 6 week period studied was minimal. The P23H-3 retina thus shows significant recovery of function and outer segment structure in response to a reduction in ambient light. Restriction of ambient light may benefit comparable human forms of retinal degeneration in two ways, by reducing the rate of photoreceptor death and by inducing functional recovery in surviving photoreceptors.