Retinal affectation in Huntington’s disease mouse models concurs with a local innate immune response
biorxiv(2023)
Abstract
Huntington’s disease (HD) is a devastating disorder caused by aberrant expansion of CAG repeats in the HTT gene. Striatal dysfunction has been widely studied in HD mouse models. However, cumulative evidence indicates that the retina can also be functionally altered with consequences for visual function and circadian rhythms. The retina is the most exposed part of the central nervous system that can be used for monitoring the health status of patients using noninvasive techniques. To establish the retina as an appropriate tissue for HD studies, we linked the retinal alterations with those in the inner brain. We confirmed the malfunction of the R6/1 retinas, which underwent a rearrangement of their transcriptome as extensive as in the striatum, indicating a profound retinal affectation in HD. Tissue-enriched genes were downregulated in both areas, but a neuroinflammation signature was specifically induced in the R6/1 retina due to glial activation that was reminiscent of the situation in HD patient’s brains. These phenomena were confirmed in the zQ175 strain, and were accompanied by a differential impairment of the autophagy system between both tissues. Overall, these results demonstrated the suitability of the mouse retina as a research model for HD.
### Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
* A2m
: Alpha-2-macroglobulin
Actb
: Actin beta
Arr3
: arrestin 3
cAMP
: cyclic adenosine monophosphate CNS, central nervous system
Ctss
: Cathepsin S
DAPI
: 4’-6-diamidino-2-phenylindole DEG, differentially expressed gene ERG, electroretinogram
FDR
: false discovery rate
Gapdh
: Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase GCL, ganglion cell layer
GFAP
: glial fibrillary acidic protein
Gnat1
: G-Protein subunit alpha transducin 1
H2-K1
: H-2 class I histocompatibility antigen, K-B alpha chain HD, Huntington’s disease
Hmox1
: Heme oxygenase 1 HTT, huntingtin
Iba-1
: ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule 1
Il1b
: interleukin 1b
Il6
: interleukin 6
INL
: inner nuclear layer IPL, inner plexiform layer
IRF
: interferon regulator factor KI, knock-in
ONL
: outer nuclear layer OPL, outer plexiform layer
Opn1sw
: Opsin 1, short wave sensitive
Rho
: rhodopsin
RNFL
: retinal nerve fibre layer
RT-qPCR
: retrotranscription and quantitative PCR scRNA-seq, single cell RNA sequencing
SD-OCT
: spectral domain optical coherence tomography STAT, Signal transducer and activator of transcription
Tbp
: TATA-box binding protein
TFBS
: transcription factor binding site
Tnf
: Tumor necrosis factor
Trf
: Transferrin
TUNEL
: terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labelling UHDRS, Unified Huntington’s Disease Rating Scale
wt
: wild-type
MoreTranslated text
Key words
retinal affectation,disease mouse models,huntingtons,immune response
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