Oxidative stress and inflammation in retinal degeneration
Retinal degeneration refers to retinal cell loss and is a major cause of blindness in the world. Diabetic retinopathy (DR), age related macular degeneration (AMD) and retinitis pigmentosa (RP) are major types of retinal degeneration. The disease mechanisms of these conditions are not fully understood and there is currently no cure for these conditions. DR is one of the most common complications of diabetes and the leading cause of visual impairment and blindness in the world, affecting 90% of patients who have had diabetes for more than 20 years. AMD is the commonest cause of visual impairment in the developed world. It is important to undertake this work because oxidative stress and inflammation have been linked to these causes of retinal degeneration.
The overall aim of the project is to use mouse models for understanding the development of these diseases so that by understanding them, we can develop potential therapeutic strategies for these conditions. By studying the role of oxidative stress and inflammation in mouse retinal degeneration models we hope to generate new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying the development of retinal degeneration, which will lead to the identification of potential treatments. The main outputs at the end of this project are expected to be new insights into the functional role of oxidative stress and inflammation in the pathogenesis of retinal degeneration – i.e. how this disease originates and develops. This may include the identification of novel biomarkers of the disease or new drug targets.
The main beneficiaries of the outputs generated in this project will be other scientists investigating the disease mechanisms of retinal degeneration. The data we report will provide new ideas and insights to advance their studies. The research will also benefit clinical researchers who are investigating the underlying causes of retinal disorders in patients. In addition, our research will also provide important new insights that may advance the work of others in this general area. Our work may also impact on researchers working in the pharmaceutical industry through the identification of potential new biomarkers (i.e. molecules within the body that can be used to see how well the body responds to treatments) and drug targets that can be exploited to aid disease diagnosis and treatment. There is also likely to be an impact on the third sector as we will seek to interact with relevant charities, such as Fight for Sight and Sight Research UK, as our work progresses.
The outputs from this work will be maximised through a range of collaborations with other colleagues in the UK and overseas. We will share our research with the scientific community via peer-reviewed publications in international scientific journals and presentations in national and international conferences and we will also collaborate with other experts in this field to ensure that we develop a detailed understanding of molecular changes that are caused by deficits in disease-causing genes/proteins, which may be linked to retinal degeneration.